when it feels unreal
TOOL, GM Place, August 22, 2006
18,000 warm, anticipating bodies
formed a snake around the building
friends in the wrong line up met with friends
who met with friends long lost to other relationships
an introduction to the breath-consuming sourness
of another’s disregard
feeling violated after the innocent perpetrator (just doing her job)
confirmed i was harmless
excited, searching every which way
for other friends long lost to busy lives, for now
we would not know tonight how isis sounds
as we zig-zagged through swarms, a dotted mess
a man with one right number found himself
with one wrong number, rightly mine
the seats were there to tell us where to stand
as the band embraced our ears and chests
pseudo candles, smoke in green lasers
a white stage lit with moving images
a paper candle nearby sends smoke my way
my lungs incapacitated temporarily in distress
intermission brings a rest, four people seated while
18,000 throats go hoarse and twice that, hands numb
two hours in five minutes disappeared, and it’s over
we scream and exit in deafness
friends meet friends, and in cheering agree
the experience was more than worth what we spent