April 7, 2010

Bathroom Walls

What is it about anonymity that makes people be mean?
and short-tempered?
and hateful?
Are these bathroom stalls indicative of human nature's meaner
molten iron core?
The stall today spoke of both
conservativism and liberalism
artists and political pundits
bashing gay marriage and the Religious Right in the same
square foot of space.
Add a skillfully crafted kiwi bird - who has time like that in a bathroom stall?-
and you've got it.
You've got it all.
All Love
All Hate
in a square foot of space
on a cold white wall
in a bathroom stall.
Discussing cheating on boyfriends
with married men and
lying.
Lying about where they've been and what they've done
Bragging to no one
on a cold white wall
in a bathroom stall.
What lack of self-respect and respect for others
spawns hate like this?
What overflowing love for others causes some to write
"smile, you are beautiful" in all caps
to drown out the
"bitch"
and the "fuck you"?
Is it adrenaline that rears it head
and gets hearts racing to write something anonymous
and flaming?
Is it a rush for you?
To insult things others hold in the silent holiness of the
space between heartbeats?
This cold white wall
of a bathroom stall
reveals the cold hearts and sterile minds
of the creator.
It speaks more of artist than
it does of the audience
who is there for a split second and
moves on.
On with their life, not clinging to hate like a
deadly life-line.
On with their day to go derive functions
and split atoms and
spit knowledge in the face
of ignorance
and love in the face of that toothed-beast
snarling creature of hate that
is found
on cold white walls
in bathroom stalls.

2 comments:

  1. People excrete all sorts of nasty things in the bathroom...interesting how these tiled chambers seem to draw out the best and worst of us in their gleaming vacuum.

    ReplyDelete
  2. sort of like the internet I think. Both gross misinterpretations of the first amendment.

    ReplyDelete

 
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