Underlying

 

Underlying

 

 

What is lying under the surface?

 

Clearly what is under the surface is deep. Natural contrast: depth is below the shallows.

 

When you squatted down with ruddy knees and turned over a stubby stone as a child, what did you find underneath? Bugs, dirt and mold.

 

On the surface, people ask about your day. How have you been? You say, I’ve been well, this brisk fall weather is quite refreshing. Within your arthritic neck is flaring as you turn your head to feign interest.

 

The deep stuff is the meaningless of existence. Talking about the grid of time and space and resources we are caught in. We can get a little more, but it also costs a bit more. Trapped. We can move in a finite way, box to box, cube to cube. Dull, as in without point, as in start of paragraph.

 

On the skin is the oil paint that dazzles the eyes hides the bland or unkempt canvas flesh skeleton.

 

Shadow is deep. Well… we can see it sometimes if we observe a little. What comes out when you’re anonymous online, when you’re in your steel rectangular armour on wheels. What comes out is the truth. What you’re trying to suppress below the fake-it-till-you-make-it with gritted orange section beam.

 

The stuff I secretly laugh at soothing me, telling me sweet blaring nothings while rich sports fans complain about how their entertainment isn’t quite up to their standards. Spoiled brats!

 

Behind your eyes. Emotionally intelligent customer service skills. Fake it a little. But how plastic do you have to keep it? At least I’m real-fake, you fake-fake! You’re over the unreal line. I tell the truth even when I lie.

 

Yeah, you’re shiny but underneath you’re trying to get all you can. Slicked back hair politician salesman. The kind that mystifies you as to how they convince people. [Seinfeld voice]: Who ARE these people? You have enough. You want to be bloated. More money. More food. More sexual attention period. More powerful. More control. More comfort. You saw a sucker coming named Luke. You picked me up, turned me upside down and shook out the nickels and dimes. How much does he have? Let’s upsell! He’s already here and buying, clearly he’ll buy more. Let’s see what is he afraid of, and how can I use that to manipulate him? Let’s make it time limited, everyone loves a deal, but it’s only available today. And people need it now! What if there is no deal later? Fear of missing out. Maybe he’s a perv let’s try my doe-eyed curvaceous assistant with something full of sugar to soften him up…

 

You think you’re better than me, and in some respect, correct. You have to play surface humility, the snowy mountain on the tip top of your behemothical ego.

 

Is the deep stuff so great?