“Every man is nothing more or less than the demands of the world, and that the more a man demands of the world, the bigger the magnitude of his success or failure in life.” Omar El Akkad, What Strange Paradise (2021)
By Rey Moreno
Creativity
I have been told it must be there
Within the confines of my soul.
Open my heart and mind
Like a river in constant flow with time.
Today I listen.
There’s no specific destination,
Just a journey to where the muse sings.
Come easy on me.
I’m just a beginner
In age half a century passed.
It’s never too late – maybe a year.
That’s all it takes if I got it inside.
How I long for meaning – yet…
I never understand who I am.
What is there to create?
Even in words in a second language.
It’s just a romantic delusion on my part!
I am who I am but made very ordinary from the start.
Symphony of a Working Day
The clock radio sounds off its marching order
From the gods of moneyed economy.
Slowly I get up to the morning silence,
Towards the cold embrace of the bathroom.
Suddenly, the whizzing and bursting of the shower
Wake me up to the real world I have to face.
Now fully dressed up I hear the oozing drop of
Tim Hortons coffee. With nerves reverberated, I zoom out
Of the house and await the coming of screeching train wheels
Until I reach downtown Toronto. There I meet my fellow workers
Walking briskly to impress upon the captains of industry
Our readiness to take orders and execute them properly.
For seven hours or more I converse with my aide silently,
Accomplishing the works in Excel, Word or other Applications.
The fingers are strained so are the eyes.
Soon my carpal tunnel jolts me into revolting pain.
Time to stretch those hands and muscles and give the eyes a break.
Can Crossword or Sudoku do the trick?
An Unrequited Love
I cannot stop you from loving me.
That is your right meant to be.
Like everyone else there’s a choice.
Not choosing you is my rightful voice.
You seem to believe your love is everything,
Sorrow gone, happiness that is all wanting.
But I prefer to say my departure
No guilt or fear can keep us together.
Years passed and you still believe
Your unrequited love is yours to grieve.
Don’t let me drown in your sorrow
All I want is to live for tomorrow.
Close your heart and let’s try to move on
There’s time to enjoy life before it’s gone.
Let your love fall in the right place.
And your happiness starts with a tender embrace.