Looking up from meditation,
years focused on cubicle walls,
a voice calls out in the wilderness
of middle age
and reminds you that you were
once young
and had dreams and desires
greater than mortgages
and car payments
and trips to the mall
and yes sir and no sir
and counting the days
until your annuity kicks in
if it has not been stolen
and hoping it’s enough
to let you walk out the door
with the illusion of freedom.
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Bio: Joseph Farley edited Axe Factory from 1986 to 2010. His books and chapbooks include Wolf Poems, Suckers, For the Birds, Longing for the Mother Tongue, Waltz of the Meatballs, and Her Eyes. His work has appeared within the past year in Sketchbook, Bewildering Stories, US 1 Worksheets, Mad Swirl, Verse Wisconsin, Thunder Sandwich, Bond Street Review and many other places.
