Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Ivory Tower Elevator Blues

 


Look at them up there,

glaring down on us,

their crocodile sympathies

falling from the sky.

In great puddles

of pity.

 

Poking their heads over the ledge,

imagining our painful languishing

in some wheel of ceaseless

suffering, yet they do not

leave their tower,

all we see is their glare.

 

A silently resentful, pitying glare,

of which we squint against,

as we accomplish the things that must

be done, for the money, the

food and modicum of our

own power.

 

They look so sad behind those

watery, glaring eyes; from what I

can see from so far down below.

I feel a little bad for them in their

tall towers and cushy Corinthian

leather chairs.

 

How they must hate themselves

for their successes, so much so

they allow themselves the time for guilt,

a curious, blind guilt, of superiority

and ineffable desire to be charitable

and kind.

 

Without leaving their tower,

of course,

it’s vicarious pity of the highest

degree, pity and charity at the end

of a very long stick, that may have

had a little poop on it earlier.

 

A shaky tower, built on backs,

of the lesser than’s, and could have been’s,

the should have’s, the wanter’s, and the

never will be’s.

Yet shimmering and beautiful.

Impeccable and gaudy.

 

The ground, so firm and vast,

open and traversable to each

point on the compass in near

endless travel, eye opening and

empathetic to what’s going on

down here.

 

If it were easy, everyone would

be doing it, but it is hard on the

ground, scrambling and earning,

but there’s a satisfaction in the

scratching, like relief from a long

bothersome itch.

 

I’m sad for them;

way up in the sky,

in their helicopters,

planes, ski resort chalets;

never knowing the joys

of just making it through the day.

 

“Well, this is my floor, 45th floor.

I will see you tomorrow, Jeeves,

thanks for the elevator ride,

good luck with those “elites”

at the top floors.”

 

I winked at Jeeves.

I went to my room in the tower.

Shaking my head at those

above.

 


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