As I stand near the top of a hill

Near a sidewalk

Near a road

Near a big city,

I realize that I am alone

Street lights

Porch lights

Path lights

Belie the fact that my neighbors

Are stuck inside,

Watching life on a device.

I am reduced to red-green-blue-yellow glows

Of those televisions to be seen

Through windows mostly covered by drapes.

Our lives covered by fenced yards,

side entrances,

Automatic garage doors,

And minivans with tinted windows.

As nothing moves for minutes,

My assumption and assessment

Is that I have found

Hell right here

Still, it’s pretty nice

In Lenexa, Kansas