We Just Breathe
Life
We just breathe and make noises Blink, eat and drinkGet up, go to sleepRead and then think-React and respond To things that we seeDecide at young agesWhat we want to be-Learn to be something;To be useful I guessTo earn ourselves moneyTo need money less-Make friends and make babiesMake a family...or twoWatch elders get older And go down with the flu-In between, start a hobbyA distraction from lifeTime to escape From a husband or wife-Ferrying childrenFrom one place to the nextThe price that we payFor that one night of sex-Of course there's the prideAnd the joy in a boyAnd the girl whose taught earlyTo be surly or coy-The mothers of brothersWho prefer the company of menAnd those who make daughtersGo shopping again -To buy shoes and handbagsTheir happiness drugAnd the men who escape For a hot sweaty hug-Everyone breathing In the stench of this messEveryone trying to pause And think less-Trying to forget That we're just animalsWith intelligence and consciousness We become intellectuals -But still we are breathingNot moving farFrom our house or our jobIn our shiny new car-Which evolves constantlyFrom one thing to anotherIt's a race to keep up With a friend or a brother -For the new shape of headlights Or the best type of leatherFour screens on the dashboardAll linked together-To zone out altogetherLet the car drive itselfDecapitate our brain box Put it up on a shelf-For why do we need To do anything at allWhen it can all be achieved With the artificial-We don't need to be cleverLeave that to machines Go back to your yoga And your vegan green beans-Soon we won't need To get out of our bedsWe can simply keep sleepingUntil the day that we're dead-You see, we just breatheThat's all that we doPerhaps I should stop writingAnd simply breathe too