Side Effects Include Dizziness, Paranoia

I can’t touch it to scratch it,
but today’s different, isn’t it?

It’s like, I know the sun rose
higher like it’s supposed to,

but today felt slightly brighter
than even that, didn’t it?

You felt it too, didn’t you?

Or am I so accustomed to
running from abject darkness
straight towards light-imprisoning void

that when I encounter a
single day without tragedy,

the daily struggle feels
more like a comedy?

Don’t that make your mind nervous?

On rare days like this,
do you find yourself checking on
loved ones; counting, recounting
family and dear friends in hopes
that no one is missing,
or are you normal?

I dunno, man; instead of
notice of another one of
my heroes passing on, I
am getting teasers of new
music from a favorite artist,
and don’t that seem strange to you?

Instead of another black guy
sketched in chalk and demonized,
a powerful, privileged white man
is on the cusp of being held
accountable for treasonous,
inhumane acts, and if you are
like me, aren’t you just waiting
on the other shoe to drop?

Is my heart skipping beats a sign
of hope displacing despair
for the first time in forever,
or should I see a doctor?

Perhaps, for once, this time,
the answer is yes?

Written for NaPoWriMo Day 28 Prompt:

“Our prompt today (optional, as always), is to write a poem that poses a series of questions. The questions could be a mix of the serious (“What is the meaning of life?”) and humorous (“What’s the deal with cats knocking things off tables?”), the interruptive (“Could you repeat that?”) and the conversational (“Are those peanuts? Can I have some?”). You can choose to answer them – or just let the questions keep building up, creating a poem that asks the reader to come up with their own answer(s).”

NaPoWriMo Day 28 Prompt