Vintage Princely

Song of a Wasted Hour:

January 2009

Ask the stone and it will tell you
how much easier it is to exist
than live —

How effortless to lie on this road unconscious
of seconds, and hours, and time —

Not you in self-inflicted comatose:
breathing in, breathing out

Adding nothing to time but nothing —

How awful sweet to survive
with no need to strive — no pain of struggle —
without breath

nor heart
nor life…

nor need of any!

How simple it is to live lifeless
one day into another
and another –

Ask the stone and it will tell you
the magnitude of the pangs
of labor: holding the stomach:
passing gas: groaning:
aching…

how it is to spend a whole hour giving birth
to nothing –

Written by Princely H. Glorious in January 2009 in Athi River, Kenya. Minor edits for concision: Nov 12, 2021. Also changed the title from “Story of a Wasted Hour” to “Song of a Wasted Hour.”

P.S. It is one day before my 30th birthday. I find myself wanting to write but having too much to do. I remembered my collection of poems from 2008–2010 which I had, fortunately, typed up in the Daystar computer lab and asked a friend to email me. It is the only way I have them saved. This one seems relevant even today.

Downloadable image version.