Punch In, Punch Out

Indeed someone agrees with me
My cars and where I stay
Five rooms, two baths, a living room
A spare garage on the way
My yard is lined with flowerbeds
For a truly blissful life
Two kids, great job, a pension plan
A drop-dead gorgeous wife

The neighbor's home is similar though
I stress it's not the same
It has a tacky feel to it
An off-color window frame.
The road I'm on goes on for miles
Perpendicular and straight
At the end a Super Mall
One that never makes you wait

It has everything you'll ever want
Also some stuff you need
The clearance sale there at the GAP
Keeps my image up to speed
The food court on the second floor
Serves my domestic haute cuisine
They take it up to where I sit
At speeds you've never seen

Got me a sweet computer job
Writing code for Uncle Bill
I move and shake the cutting edge
Ride the bullet if you will
But sometimes there's an undertow
When I feel lethal in the brain
A truckload of annoyances
Gridlocks life in the fast lane

Like the grass I cut each Saturday
To maintain my stucco castle
I eat the weeds I blow the leaves
But raking piles still is a hassle
They lined my street with trees, you know
The maple kind. They block my view
Their leaves are sticking my lawn
I blame all this on morning dew

My daughter needs retainers too
Expensive ones that make her drool
The company wants over-time
The neighbors got a pool
The bank was on the phone last night
I should've fixed my mortgage rate
With interest levels on the rise
It's fix it now or it's too late

Bill hasn't come to work lately
In fact, I haven't seen the man for years
And punching code another year
Is the sum of all my fears
And my stocks are out of options
There's not much left to win
The Dow dropped yet another point
And will one day do me in

Now the rain drops by the buckets
On a home with space to fill
I ignore the calls for child support
At least dispose of them until
A date not further specified
When I stand up and fight
The uphill legal battle 
In the tunnel with no light

And the rain seeps through the plaster
Dripping on my single bed
I can't afford to keep things up
And do some plastering instead
And where once stood a castle
Now stands a s**t hole on a grid
The toilet's overflowing
And I can't even close the lid

And Bill, he wants efficiency
On a paycheck very lean
Punch in at nine, punch out at five
Punch numbers in between
I'm a burden on the payroll now
But a taxman's wet dream
In a GAP suit bought a year ago
That's tearing at the seam

But I have come to grips today
I'll get back on my feet
I'll punch my final keystrokes hard
Punch Control Alt Delete
I'll get back home, sit on the bed
And spill the gasoline
Drop a match like I dropped everything
Build a fire never seen

Disposing of my freeze-dried life
Seems not much of a choice
When I can watch the plaster tumble
And I can listen to the noise
The fireworks will die out soon
And will leave a vacant lot
For others to start over
When it's their turn to lose the plot

 

Reviews

[Wildfleour]

This reminds me of the movie, "Revolutionary Road". My greatest fear is to not live my life, but just sleepwalk through it. This fear motivates me every way, in a good way!

[darkgurl]

This is an amazing write, i like this alot, great flow and rhythm.....Kim

[LacyBug]

WOW!!!! This is really GREAT!!!!! I loved it! I would read it over and over again! It has terrific flow! keep up the great work! cant wait to see what you bring to us next! thanks for sharing!!

lacy :)