There are worlds within the world
Shadows of the order of things you know
Parallel paths
Sometimes adjoining
But each apart
Overlaid like transparencies in a stack
There is the world of parents at home with their children
Haunting story hours and playgrounds
The world of salespeople, of every industry
Driving, parking, ordering Starbucks
Conference attendees scattered at round tables in hotel meeting rooms
Eating chicken and rice pilaf for lunch
Teachers and truckers and factory workers
Taxi drivers and taco stand chefs
Grocery baggers and traffic cops
Nurses and plumbers and security guards
And the overnight shift at the rest stop
Their own schedules and calendars
And jargon and pet peeves
Career paths and colleagues
Comings and goings
Meetings and partings
Invisible to the rest of us
But the whole world to their members
Unaware of each other’s existence
Oblivious to the novelty of their experience of the universe
Parallel paths
Sometimes adjoining
But each apart
Running their course
From morning until night
And night through morning
Endlessly, relentlessly
And unseen
