cacoPhony
It was bright, but it was dark. Illumination from many bright lights bled into my eyes. Supposedly, we once had a grand light in the sky that have us all we needed. My makeshift curtains did little to hold back the photons beaming into me. Did you know Denham’s Dentifrice has a special discount that ends May 12th? Or so I hear, from outside billboards blaring my poor ears. The noise was loud. To overpower Mr. Denham, it took little less than what the human vocal cords could put out. All of it was meaningless. Jane and Jane spoke of what Jane and Jane spoke of what Jane and Jane spoke of. All loud, with no meaning, the cacophony blabbed on and on and on. The last time I heard silence was yesterday. I live upon story twelve, circle three. Fortunate, I was. Fortunate, to have a glimmer of quiet when all gazed upon the gravity-struck corpse of another high-rise resident. Him and I, saw peace for once. The wilted dove fell from the sky like Mr. Doe. The absence of human noise was merely added to what came next. If we spent one hundred and ten percent of our breath on speaking over Denham, I wonder how they managed to hit such volumes. Glass shattered down there, I bet. I never went down below. Litter of sound, littering crowd. I liked it up in my abode. I didn’t even need to take out the trash, I had a window and eleven neighbors to blame. I’d sit up there with my laptop, doing whatever remote work they’d send my way. My evening, more slop and some games. I wish I knew somebody, but the people below look so meaningless. I close my laptop. This time, I bothered not to finish my chemical supplementation, which I couldn't even call food. I opened my window, looking out of it. Nothing of beauty, I note. Organics below wandered, while organics gazed and flashed me with their lights.* I wish they were still backlit, those billboards. Maybe then I’d know when I looked at reality’s eyes or the greed of someone no longer human. An advert for an art installation flashed upon the board. For once, I note beauty. That hour, I became a spectacle myself. Others felt my peace for a second, mine lasted forever. Something new. That night was always bright, but today was dark.
*Afterword; Organics flashing refers to OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) displays, which are known for great colour accuracy. Your phone (and many TVs) most likely use OLED, while most other monitors use another form of LCD (Liquid Crystal Display).
Thanks for reading! This is my first post here, but most likely I'll stay a bit longer. Meaningful poetry is a bit harder in my opinion and I don't want my only reader to Microsoft's next model sifting through my word doc.