At Five

My eyes open wide but my body's dead
My mind's alight in my matter's stead
And this stark sobriety from the nascent draft
Is my perception cleared or have I succumbed at last?
Is this the awakened senses of a primal beast
The instinctive struggle to die on my feet
Or am I just insane when my thoughts are clear
No worldly influence to keep me here?
But I see through the gloom that I'm not alone
Another empty soul in an empty home
She's as dead as the grave on a moonless night
Is this what is meant by a “waking life?”
But the grave's at peace I can see, god damn
That's how she is, is this how I always am -
More wasted potential I don't understand
Another byproduct of the ascent of man?

Once again I'm off to the daily grind
How trite, I guess, but I no longer mind
Numbed to the disappointment of reality
Cut off from the fantasies I'll never see.
But I see her smile as I wave good bye
And beneath it all I smile back inside
Thinking how well her Sisyphus bears its load