Near Zero Blog

I Space the Day

R. Jay Hoffman

A man in his late 40s sits in his car in the driveway with a pleasant look, while his wife angrily waits in the kitchen window.

I space the day
By the length of a song
4:17, 3:37; 11:31
Almost twenty minutes
If you let the last notes linger
Til morning break

As I’ve gotten older 
I’ve worked my way closer to the door
I have 20 years of productivity yet
Maybe more
But now I measure time from the end
Rather than the beginning
The length of a 1950s 45
From the top of the hill
The rock will break loose from my hands
And the last note will bend

Kiss Alive until I am done with work
A Pearl Jam album until I get home
From my first car to my last
Here Comes the Rain
By The Cult
There goes the love and pain
Of another day
another life

One Rush song to last overnight
Or so it seems
But that’s all right
When the music invites you
Rather than announcing itself

I have the length of Freebird live
To take a nap on my lunch break
The length of Foxy Lady
To get back to my desk
The length of Iron Man to walk to my car
The Temptations for the traffic light

Pulling into the driveway at 6PM
15 seconds left to Bohemian Rhapsody
Wife looking out the window and waiting
Getting madder by the second
But nothing really matters
To me

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It’s nice to meet you.

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One response to “I Space the Day”

  1. michael raven Avatar
    michael raven

    I’ll have to admit, “Rain” songdropping was not on my bingo card today. The Cult were on my mind because, apparently, they appeared on SNL in 1986. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the song they played (nope, “She Sells Sanctuary”). Nice poem, brings back some memories.