Pay No Attention

There is a deep, black curtain behind you.
You didn’t see it.
Maybe you didn’t look, or maybe you didn’t look
fast enough. When you do,

A face full of velvet smoke.
A turn of the mind.
A twist in the darkness.
That something you are always about to remember,
that song you were never able to sing,
but, oh,
you can hear it, the words
vocal chords can’t mimic so how
can you hear it
in the rustling, billowing,
tearing, dividing
confusion that you just need
to focus on for a second longer to solve --

So focus. Follow a process.
Everything they want
will be finished, and on time too.
Two neat lists, tasks separated and ordered,
clear goals, boxes to be ticked, items
to cross off. Good.
Now you know where you are going and how to get there,
you should feel fulfilled and motivated and
not at all curious about that man,
that golden glowing god,
who is staring from behind the curtain.

Apollo in chains.