By Declan Geraghty
Simon gets up early in the morning
forgetting the damn blinds are voice activated
and when they eventually open
after calling the blasted thing three times
they open up toward a leafy suburb
and the sleek smart TV
that floats along the wall
tells me things,
things I repeat
in front of the galley
like I’m preaching something
something I don’t really believe in
but I look smart
I look like I know what I’m taking about
and its a tough game to survive
but time is a great healer
even promises of life saving surgeries
to passed away children
can be glossed over
can be forgotten with time
like the changing of seasons
and the Autumn leaves covering up
the corpses of of things best long forgotten
scandals left to fossilise
things RTE moved on from
I switch off the news
the damn control is like something from a James Bond film
not a TV
maybe even a villain would use it
I turn on the tap
put the blade under warm water
shave
then shower
the shirt
the suit
always reminding me of my first holy communion somehow
they joke that I still have my money
the au pair makes breakfast
then dresses the kids,
the heating automatically adjusts
to the outside temperature
the electric car could be called sleek
it doesn’t make a sound as it passes large red brick houses
the seat adjusts with me
as the morning commute kicks in,
say a prayer
that a good civil servant
can stay in the game
getting up in the morning
early
a leader
say a prayer for me
and
for people who get up early in the morning.
