writing our lives away

we spend our entire lives writing one book 
an autobiography
we never stop writing this book about ourselves
and the only book we really read is our own autobiography
never anyone's else
even those closest to us
writing this self-absorbed book consumes our entire day

and we are left with no time to live
our autobiographies are all the same 

only the cover is different - with our names on it

we each think our autobiography is unique 

and go thru life demanding that everyone should read it 

but our books all have the same content
minute-by-minute records of each desire

hurt

fear 

and self-agrandizement

we rewrite the same story every day

and we never tire of rereading our old stories

we are all hacks

our writing is canned

and each book is the same litany of petty joys and pains

we need to stop this self-absorption

writing dead clichés all day and night long 

is no way to live

only if we burn this selfish, endlessly repetitive book

and start to read the book of life, of earth

can we learn to live in and with the world