How are you today?

Waking, the morning beckons me to join,
no choices to be pondered,
it just is,
I just am.

We unite, noon,
relieved, morning hands me over,
afternoon appears to offer an initial welcome,
but the trek, without amendment, resumes.

Well-rehearsed lines,
on concrete paths,
without deviation,
immersed in repetition,
no room for hesitation.

A stark moon rises,
my eyes, heavy, close,
to ruminate, to consider,
to reflect.

The immersive cacophony,
pleasure, pain, indifference,
fades, as curtains fall.

I will quietly smile,
not duty or pretence,
an act of defiance, perhaps,
wry acceptance,
or maybe a stumbling, an unearthing,
a pearl,
elusive at dawn,
inspired by night,
provides hope for tomorrow.

© Andrew Tomlinson