Vegetate (poem)

Vegetate
Sit back and unwind.
Let your thoughts drift away.
Concentrate on nothing
But the freeness of your mind.
Feel the tension ooze out,
As you let relaxation enter.
All of your aches and pains,
Are quashed by your new peace.
Forget the everyday worries.
Wake up, breathe, and live.
Let the bright vitality envelope you
Until your life is a radiant glow.
Float in the lucid haze.
The softness surrounds you.
Soak up the serenity
And tune out the tumultuous world.
In the end you'll never want to wake up.
You will want to live in your calm forever.
Alas, such hopes are soon vanquished
As the outside world reaches out its bony hand.
It tightens its grip around your neck.
Quickly, it jerks you back to reality.
Life trudges on through the mire
And the futile rat race goes on.

Originally published in The Binnacle in 1997.