Something a little different -- at least when compared to the last few -- I think. This week, we were presented with this picture.
And the stated setting was "a downtown." I came up with the first two lines pretty quickly, then pondered the rest a while. So here is "No Escape."
Our town has a Main Street. Correction:
our town is Main Street, and not a whole lot else. I doubt
much has changed since the days when the wooden Indian keeping watch
over Connor's Cigar Store was alive and kicking.
Boredom here is a low-hanging fruit,
plentiful, ripe, and waiting to be plucked by anyone young enough to
be restless. My friends and I all had escape plans. The lazy ones
turned to alcohol or TV-induced coma. Others thumbed a ride out on a
semi passing through; their inevitable response to "Where you
headed?" being "Anywhere else." A few of the radical
kids studied hard, and went away to college.
As I haunt Main Street, I see the next
generation sitting around, wasting their lives, languishing in the
same stupor we did. I want to grab them by their shoulders, shake
them, and say, "Wake up! There is something beyond."
But I can't.
You see, most exit strategies allow for
a round trip. Mine – jumping off the water tower – did not. But
somehow, even in death, I'm still here. Devoid of life, just like
Main Street.
In the movies, lost souls are told, "Go
to the light." But which direction does one go when there's no
light to be found?
As always, I'm happy to hear your thoughts on "No Escape."
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