literature

tomorrow and the next day 'cause it never ends

Deviation Actions

Published: Apr 8, 2016

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Literature Text

there's a woman in the laundromat staring down at her phone; she got off work three hours ago and she doesn't wanna go home 'cause all that's waiting for her there are screaming sons and a pregnant daughter; she takes her time as her laundry air-dries slowly, takes her time to breathe in the quiet-loud atmosphere of shaking machines; she takes her time. there's a man in the corner booth talking nonstop on a headset; he laughs and it's strained 'cause he knows he's on borrowed time, his wife's got another man in the sheets and he pretends he doesn't notice that she smells like whiskey and cologne when she walks through the door at 2 a.m.; he closes his eyes and takes time to convince himself it'll be okay, closes his eyes and pretends that he's asleep when he feels the bed dip beside him in the morning; he closes his eyes. there's a kid on the street holding a cigarette; his hand shakes as he lights it 'cause he hasn't had his fix yet, he knows it's cracking up his lungs but he can't get enough because it's all that's stopping him from breaking to pieces, unlike the glasses that get thrown every night as his parents scream obscenities in the kitchen; he breathes in deep to steel himself for walking through the front door, breathes in deep and feels his lungs creak, just to let out the smoke and watch it fade; he breathes in deep. there's a world out there full of people that ache; they've got broken hearts and shattered lives, you can see the years they've lived by the shadows in their eyes and the weariness they carry on their shoulders as they pass beneath the streetlights; we all carry our heartache in our rib cages and our sorrows in our toes; we'll live through the night just to witness the dawn, live through all life's imperfections because it'll always be flawed, we'll live to know what life feels like; we'll live.