It’s 6 A.M.

I greet the morning with a yawn

Another Tuesday

I sigh as I plunge into my desk chair

Another day in the cubicle

It’s 5 P.M.

Closing time

I slip my arms into my burgundy blazer and off I go

On the drive home

5 minutes

A thought jumped into my head

My girlfriend

The little milk we had left had gone sour

I was requested to pick some up

Inertia takes over as I swerve onto Elker Street

The nearest corner store is 10 minutes away

The clerk was a nice woman

As I was walking out my change clunked onto the floor

A man was nice enough to help me out

As he handed me the quarters his palm felt sweaty

The bell chimed as I exited the store

The clerk screamed

A Glock held by that same sweaty palm was pointed at the bridge of her nose

A hold-up

It was common in this area

I should’ve never intervened

The ambulance sirens were deafening

I could feel anything and everything happening inside my body

I could hear anything and everything happening inside my body

My button up felt heavy

But warm at the same time

These stains weren’t coming out in the wash

But at this point

I knew it didn’t matter

My life

Just like that

What did I spend it on?

The last 30 years

I’ve been working towards an education

Then going to my 9 to 5 job every single day

Every single week

And for what?

I never got married

Never had kids

I can’t recall the last time I went on vacation

I worked so hard

Was it worth it?

Life is a bowl of ice cream

Don’t take it for granted

Lick up every drop of it you can

Before it melts

Because if you don’t

You will regret it.