And when I took another
walk through commuter corridor,
I saw on the lotto board that
the Powerball shrank down
to its normal $40 million,
after ballooning to $235 million.
The pathetic dream of every commuter…
and I thought: “Hey now…somebody won!
It could be me!” I already bought what
could be my golden ticket out of
9 to 5 land, and steer my chariot
onto Freedom Boulevard, throwing
off sunbeams like the swords on
King Joeffrey’s throne, with my
Queen Sugar Mouse beside me,
devising our plans to transmogrify
the world…
And I walked my workday beat
past the Chicago river, where
the sludge of a million days
flow. Past streets where
crowds of disgruntled hapless
zombies also flow, and where
the endless grind of traffic
of traffic flows; but a balloon
was rising within me, a helium
balloon of happiness. I was
becoming lighter every step
of the way to my day job, as
a smile curled across my face.
One by one, all my daily duties
fell off my shoulders and left
a trail of burnt-out popcorn crushed
under the relentless march
of the zombie workers’ armies
feet. They didn’t notice anyway
because they were too busy
staring at the candy-colored
hypnotic light of their smart phones,
phones smart enough to track every
where you go, every website you
visit, even leaving its back door
open just wide enough for an
NSA spook to peek through…
Speaking of spies, the last
song from The Prisoner cult
TV show echoed in my ears,
“Number 6 enthroned.” The lilting
pop march of freedom, the Prisoner,
his servant and the Mad Hatter
escaping from the Village,
to scatter across London’s
freewheeling mod thoroughfares,
all finally FREE! Yay! Whee!
And all my plans rolled
down the boulevard of my
brain like the American troops
in a WWII ticker tape parade:
Finally
finishing our epic documentary
for which we’ve been 12 years its slave,
finally
gathering the scattered flowers
for my poetry book,
finally
buying our gorgeous Colorado home
(or something in the south of France dahling )
and
finally
making all the films
we were born to make.
And
giving my notice
(no fist pounding on table as
The Prisoner did when he left the spy world)
my transition document
wishing everyone well (and perhaps
giving them an envelope with a nice
little surprise inside…;-D ).
And awayyyy we go!
Lawyers, bankers (ugh!)
financial planners (watch their claws!)
damn, does this feel good or what?!
The whole day long I floated over the city
in my happy balloon…and thought:
“wouldn’t it be great to feel this way
every day?”
And by the time I got home to check
the lottery numbers on its website,
I saw that someone in California won…
Hmmm…
happy balloon deflated
like a used condom.
But it wasn’t the end…
I am alive, still here --
and the Universe is God’s
treasure chest overturned,
spilling out with galaxy rings,
sun medallions, moon doubloons,
necklaces of stars and planets,
people, trees, flowers, skies,
technology, machinery,
food, clothes, money,
love, laughter,
and all beautiful things.
And my beautiful Queen Sugar Mouse
covering me in kisses,
a roof covering our heads
and good food to eat.
And that night as I lay beside her,
warmed by the blanket of her love
I counted all these blessings
knowing that I already won
the Lottery of Life
and slipped into sleep.
