We get up
Brush our teeth
Get dressed, drive to work, do our job, drive home, watch tv, sleep
The desperate cycle of the normal we hate

The same discussion, the same people
The same job, the same paycheck
The same arguments and the same outcome
Silent expectations of the normal we know

It’s not something we want
The same everyday
But it is something to consider
When it’s taken away

A phone call, an alarm, a confession, an explosion
The sounds that make time stand still
They signal tragedy through silence on the other line
They quietly end the normal we know

The death of a job, a relationship or a dream
The death of our safety, of our hope and of our sleep
It’s a merger, an accident, a person, or a gunman
Is it a disruption in normal or the beginning of new?

What happens when the silence breaks
And the expectations are no more
When quiet fears become too loud
And anxiety becomes the normal we know

We get up
Brush our teeth
Get dressed, drive to work, do our job, drive home, watch tv, sleep
The desperate longing for the normal we hate