USA

The Odyssey Revisited

I venture out towards a park bench,
Sit on the black steel and light a cigarette.
I stare off into the nothingness
That is the green trees, grass, and fauna.

I look upward and take a great inhale,
Sucking the polluted air deep into my lungs.
I exhale traces of myself in
the breath that sustained me for but a moment.

I stand up – lightheaded and somewhat dizzy
To watch the smog swirl into the atmosphere.
I venture into the edifice to spend the night.
There is a girl sitting in the hall fixated on typing.

I look her body up and down for but an instant,
Another man walking towards me does the same.
I wonder if she is aware of the cascade of eyes
Which constantly bathe her body anew each day.

I look strait ahead, marching onward apathetically
Perhaps through turning back towards the girl
I would catch a glimpse of her eyes meeting mine
And realize that it is me who is being watched.

I venture back outside, and light another cigarette.

© All Copyright, Paul C. Fiehler.
All Rights Reserved. Printed By Permission.