The Missing
Before dawn, I awoke
They were noticeably missing
As I drank coffee and wrote
They were noticeably missing
As I got ready to run
They were noticeably missing
From run start until done
They were noticeably missing
Like vultures, awaiting lazily above
They do not kill, only harvest the remains
Gravity, their only effort,
Propelling their descent from above
Too lazy to put in the effort to descend
I never found them in the wee morning hours
Nor during the endless hours of pavement beating runs
I found them in abundance, hiding in their own lives
Masked from public view, hiding behind finger-clicking key strokes
I never met a hater out in the wild
Where life is hard, and effort required
No, I never met any of them out there
Only where they could criticize effort that remains foreign to them
Only where they can maintain comfort in the unremarkable
Hovering above, vultures, too lazy to put in the effort



The Lumpengradutariat
See Bluesky
Or Substack too , far less than X
Happy Easter