Reset
I stand watching it. You’d think the months of overbearing news coverage would have prepared me, but no. They said it would be this bad, but…dunno, I guess I have trust issues. I step outside my flat. Seems I am the only one left on my street. Poor old what’s her face and thingby. Just me and burning homes now. As I stroll down the road, I am left puzzled; why am I not sad?
The high street is on fire. A HOT SALE! A group of about five or six ‘humans’ burst out of H&M. Maybe looting? Either way, they are burning alive. The screams harmonise, not in sound but in meaning. An odd feeling to be able to see into your future. I’m next in the queue; why am I not running?
‘Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light’ Fuck you, Dylan Thomas. Must I always struggle? Can I die in peace, please? Is that okay with you, Dylan? I need to fight even in death? No! This is my liberation; this is an even playing field. True equality. I am allowed to die.
Titles float to the sky. Store Manager, Executive Director, Teacher…Janitor, Lunch Lady, Shop Assistant. All going to the same place. Fuck if I know where they are going. But they are gone. Stature GONE. Prestige GONE. Respect or lack of, GONE. No more names, no more heritage and no more entitlement. We are being reset; the ones that survive, if any, will be fresh. A reboot of our corrupted system. A system, and let’s be fair here that has been broken for a long time. So as I watch the carnage, I fight off tears, I fight off fear, I fight off guilt. But let us not run from punishment; let’s fucking embrace this cathartic humbling.
The streets filled with business cards burned to shit, bulky empty wallets, designer clothes unrecognisable- the horror- and wedding rings clinging onto existence. The time has come. A deep gulp. At least I don’t have to consider what I’ll look like. I’ll be dust. Less than a number, we will all be less than a number. Isn’t that great, man! No one to look up to, no one to look down on. All blind before the moment comes.
Those roots burst out through the pavement. That is us. Intruders.
My eyes begin to glow as judgement nears. I clench my fist and prepare to be at one with the world. The tears win the battle, and we have lost the war.
Less than a number…I like that.
Cheers