Distinct Footprints

By Cyril Joseph

Maybe we can't function anywhere but here. Maybe we should just cruise along, playing the fool. Maybe hell ain’t a bad place to be, if it exists at all. Maybe being dismissive to yourself seems less pathetic than being a coward who doesn't want to partake in your own life. Welcome to the place where time stands still. Your devious actions are bragging rights and you get to live guilt free. Your heart never aches and and you never feel low, because sedation keeps you away from yourself. Is that enough? I don’t know, but it will have to do. But what do I know? These are just the thoughts of a non believer who has accepted his place in hell, if it exists at all.

All the world, so warm and inviting, but I find a dark corner to camp in. It's not really about heaven or hell, but about a guy trying to keep it together while falling apart. It’s about a guy who disregards the best life and escapes the simple pleasures, for he finds solace in complicated tragedy. Furthest from happy as can be, numb to anything euphoric and cozying up in distress. Maybe because it hurts too much to feel. Maybe it hurts to be awake. Maybe that’s the way it should be.

People forget the gravitas of the experiences behind a great quote. No one did anything meaningful unless they were scorned. Weight of the world on your shoulders, eyes of the world on the back of your head. Unnerved and panicked, blindly stepping out, hoping to find ground beneath your feet. I don’t know what would be more tragic, the uncertainty, or the lack of substance under each step.

Yet the road beckons, expecting a story. But all I have is a narrative, a rant, and that will have to do for now. So let’s get on with it and shoot for the moon. If we

fall short, so be it. If not, let’s leave distinct footprints on our own terms. Stay awake, lets not pause. People have a way of blinking and missing the moment that could’ve changed everything.

By Cyril Joseph