one miserable person
is like a bad apple
in a barrel
tainting those near him
rubbing his anger
and contempt on them
Showering them with ill will
and cross words
that they cant help
but absorb some of them.

sometimes
you hear the mice scurry
through the walls
and you wonder
how they can be so content
in the same scenario
day after day
hour after hour
and then
as if the mouse
could hear your thoughts
he had enough
of his caged life
and he breaks
out of the wall
through that little hole
near the baseboard
he emerges
he runs quickly through the living room
his little feet scraping the polished floor
a new world for him
brave to give it all up
or maybe it was all he could do
to keep his sanity.

I sat on hard bleachers
completely alone
the only person
in the stadium
a humbling experience
and I watched fireworks
from 2 blocks away
my own personal show
and I loved that feeling
being alone
isolated
hearing people cheer
2 blocks away
and watching my own personal show
in the darkness
me and the occassional breeze
the bursts of purple and green and gold
silver streams of bright white flares
falling back to the earth
Hearing the wheeze, the sizzle, and pop
and I slouched in my hard bleacher seat
my legs dangling over the back
of the seats in front of me
i waited until the applause
died down
from two blocks away
before I went back inside
realizing then...
that I chose the cheap seats
to view the event
and the view was perfect there.