shenayah walker

Sisyphus

Silence the cacophony of the a.m. console
I will promise anything at this time
Frantic increments, five minutes of peace

Calculate the repercussions of one more hit
Itemize tiny responsibilities to myself and the cat
No, there is no more time to spare
I'm up

In the dark shower my mind whirrs and whizzes
Reminding myself to fix a misspelling in a memo,
A call to return, a file to follow up on

Outside of the shower my skin is tight,
Protesting against the cold
My body, blank through the numb ritual of lotion, cleanser, toner

Time to put together the puzzle of my outfit,
Blandly matching shirt to pant
And hoping it's not too soon to put it back into the rotation

The commute comminutes my horizon
Into the dully predictable eight hours ahead
Rolling my eyes at the same traffic and the same road
I traveled yesterday, will travel tomorrow

Finally in the office in the self-immolating rush for the boss' favor,
I say my good mornings with a smile I wish I could lace with cyanide
And listen
to the nip tap tips of the keyboards
Making their staccato points
into the dry air