A Ponderous Moment At Pizza Hut, Cagayan De Oro City Poem by RIC BASTASA

i am sitting in one of those commercial benches
of Pizza Hut

the glass walls divide me from the rest of this world
the sidewalk is filled with people rushing in different directions

the main road of this dusty city is filled with cars and trucks and
buses
if only i can hear their rush of horns and screeches of their rubberized wheels
i should have know better how noisy will it be

across the road is another set of people walking, rushing, running

they are all busy, and the dusts on their shoes have become too visible
like clouds of brown and gray on the surface of the pavements
and roads

inside is this peace of comfortable living
i have a plate of hot vegetable pizza, ice cold red tea,
vanilla sundae

as it is too early for the mall to open
there is only myself and the waitress who has well kept hair
a red apron as uniform and a very smiling face as mandated by the
rules of the establishment

inside the kitchen the chef is busy with his recipe and dough

i am pondering, why should people be too busy to forget about
how is it to be at peace with themselves

like having to do nothing with roads and dusts and work
i am at peace with myself, arrogating upon myself the much needed
vacation

this is my time, when i am not a part of the busy world
attached to no one, with no vested interest, no itinerary

i do not know yet what to do do really with my own spare time
how to make it productive as the Establishment would want me to do

i am at peace, and this is what i want, and this is what i mean,
Others are none of my business,
as i am too, am none to them...

sometimes i ask, why should i be busy? why should i be a part of
all these useless crowds?

i have only one life to live, and it is not that long enough for some
long range projects,

i must learn to enjoy it, to the full and so tomorrow i shall be shutting
myself off from everyone,

i am set to go in a far away island, swim on its blue sea,
rest upon its sand, bathe on the rays of the gentle sun.