Idle Days by Liam Mcclelland
You buy an ice lolly from the
local supermarket just to enjoy
on this hot summer day,
but you can’t tear open the packet in time,
it melts before you get to marvel at its full form.
You check into your hotel room and go to
make a coffee with the accompanying kettle,
but the only plug socket is
out of reach from the table it’s on,
so you have to place it on the floor if you really want that caffeine.
The ready meal you bought requires
a fork that wasn’t provided in the packaging,
it dawns on you that you had to get one separately in the shop,
so you pick up the coffee stirrers to use like chopsticks,
but it’s just not the same.
You notice your bedroom has started
to become decorated with cobwebs and dust,
so you get up to clean
but you have barely moved in weeks,
you grow faint from the little effort required to do it.
You hop on a train and decide to
visit another city for the day,
a lovely retreat away from this mess,
but between the ice lolly, kettle, and forkless meal,
you can conclude how well this has worked out for you.
They are minor inconveniences at best, yes,
but your awareness of them happening at all and
how they weigh on your conscience,
overwhelmed with frustration to the point of tears,
should tell you everything you need.
local supermarket just to enjoy
on this hot summer day,
but you can’t tear open the packet in time,
it melts before you get to marvel at its full form.
You check into your hotel room and go to
make a coffee with the accompanying kettle,
but the only plug socket is
out of reach from the table it’s on,
so you have to place it on the floor if you really want that caffeine.
The ready meal you bought requires
a fork that wasn’t provided in the packaging,
it dawns on you that you had to get one separately in the shop,
so you pick up the coffee stirrers to use like chopsticks,
but it’s just not the same.
You notice your bedroom has started
to become decorated with cobwebs and dust,
so you get up to clean
but you have barely moved in weeks,
you grow faint from the little effort required to do it.
You hop on a train and decide to
visit another city for the day,
a lovely retreat away from this mess,
but between the ice lolly, kettle, and forkless meal,
you can conclude how well this has worked out for you.
They are minor inconveniences at best, yes,
but your awareness of them happening at all and
how they weigh on your conscience,
overwhelmed with frustration to the point of tears,
should tell you everything you need.
Liam McClelland Bio:
Liam McClelland is a writer from the North West of England who explores themes within existential thought, our relationships with the objects and people around us, the human experience, and life in the 21st century. He has previously been published in Popshot Quarterly.
Liam McClelland is a writer from the North West of England who explores themes within existential thought, our relationships with the objects and people around us, the human experience, and life in the 21st century. He has previously been published in Popshot Quarterly.
