High Anxiety (w/audio)

[Doreen Peri]

>> High Anxiety - Click to Listen

He had high anxiety,
tics and twitches and a wide variety
of itches in places he shouldn't have itches,
and at midnight each night, try as he might,
he couldn't cease the paranoia attacks.
Life just wasn't a joy any more and
when delusions set in he couldn't keep track
of all the pills he'd swallowed to cure his ills,
the whiskey he drained to ease the pain,
the balms and salves to quell the rashes,
even inhaled powdered garlic dashes
and many more remedies natural and not
to get rid of the jitters and twitters he got.

He had a feeling the cause
was since life had no pause,
it just kept on going on lickety split.
He couldn't stop the constant bombardment
of info and data and other annoying shit.
And he cursed too, so what? It's true.
It was a reaction, a slip of the tongue.
His ready excuse was he was older than you,
had been around longer, was no longer young,
and the more that he said it, the more he was aware
that he had high anxiety and nobody cared.

In fact not a soul enjoyed being around
when he paced the floor and couldn't sit down.
Attempts to dissuade it were futile at best
and he was truly convinced
it was some kind of test
and worse than that,
he knew he wouldn't pass,
his nerves were extremely on edge and the task
of relaxing was such an overwhelming chore
that he finally decided not to do it any more.

So he drove himself downtown to the local gun store
and bought a rifle, he claimed, to hunt some deer
or other wild game (it wasn't quite clear)
and he signed his name on the dotted line,
just like you would sign yours or I would sign mine
but headed out to the mall instead
to make sure all of the people who had ignored
his high anxiety were quickly shot dead ...
and then afterward turned the gun to his head.

He went hunting indeed ... even took his beagle.
Good thing for him the rifle was legal.

dp.3.30.09

[Doreen Peri]

i'm going to record this tomorrow

[Lightning Rod]

title suggestion
Going Postal
or just Postal

[Doreen Peri]

hmmm... interesting idea... maybe i'll make him go to the post office and massacre people instead of the mall

that would be funny

[Nazz]

"the task of relaxing was such an overwhelming chore"

Wow.

[Doreen Peri]

thanks for reading mnaz

happy the poor guy wowed ya

[Mark Christopher]

I just realized that I take it out on the fishes when I need to relax. Life starts to get to me, on the kayak I go with rod in tow. Still better than the mall I think.

Nice piece and I hope for me that relaxing doesn't ever become a chore.

[Doreen Peri]

Thanks, Mark! Hope so too. As I always say, hang in there.... by tomorrow things will be back to turmoil.

I just recorded it.

>> High Anxiety - Click to Listen

I should put some music to it.

Now I need to record the Fame & Beauty piece.

[Lightning Rod]

nice reading, doreen

(recording suggestion--go into the closet up against the clothes with the recorder, or in a room with carpet and curtains. The room you are recording in now is very bouncy.)

[Doreen Peri]

thanks clay

unfortunately, i loaned my flashlight to the neighbor who moved and took it with him and i never replaced it ... sigh... but i have candles!

no light switch in the closet and candles would cause a fire.

(excuses excuses, i know, but yanno what we always say? the materials at hand..... i was reading it off the screen... saves on ink and paper, too, 'cause i don't have a laptop to take into the closet... )

[Lightning Rod]

oooh, just the picture of you with a laptop in a closet gives me the willies...haha
you might be looking at scrabble porn

all I'm saying is that with that little machine you are using, with the very sensitive condenser mic, whatever you can do to cut the room echo down would be better. Hang a blanket over your head and monitor.....haha. Materials at hand for sure. Remember when I put the microphone in a cardboard box? Materials at hand.

[Perdida]

Love it Doreen, can't wait to hear it.

[Doreen Peri]

Thanks, Maree! Just hit the link I posted to listen.

[Yejun]

I keep thinking of that Grunge band. What was their name again?

I "enjoyed" this.

Could this be a member of a subgenre? I think so and if so, I think the power is in the detail.

[Doreen Peri]

Thanks Yejun! I like how you put "enjoy" in quotes ... 'cause how can anybody really enjoy a massacre, yanno? I loved your reply.

A lot of people seem not to like rhyme very much. I don't understand why. The genres of Hip Hop and Rap use it all the time and they're very popular genres.

I don't know what I'd call a sub-genre for this... Spoken Word is what it is. If you think of a new name for it, let me know.

And if you think of the name of the Grunge band you're reminded of, let me know that, too, OK?

thanks again for reading and listening