Whats in the cup Part 1

In this cup in front of me

There is a red marker, a pink highlighter, a blue pen, a mechanical pencil, and a close pin

The RED MARKER

In a small village next to a small town next to a large city, a boy wakes up.

Every morning

The rooster crows, the meager meal is prepared, the family eats.

A story is told about a dream that was had.

An antecdote about the color of the sky is given.

Little by little, the bowl is emptied

And soon, the plates are gathered into a large pot to be rinsed for the next meal.

The boy gets ups.

He picks up his sack.

He picks up his hat.

And begins the walk to the factory, past the small town to the large city.

He walks by roosters tip toeing around the sides ofthe roads.

He walks by buffaloe grazing the grasses and working along the fields.

He breathes. The air is fresh.

For now.

Smoke rises from stacks of factory chimneys

Smoke clouds the sky.

Roosters are replaced by the vagrants

Calling left over boxes and discarded metal home

Buffaloe replaced by men in suits

Forcing the single file line into the metal monster that lay ahead

The door into the factory

The boy walks in, has his named checked off, and puts on safety glasses.

He walks down a hall to his post.

He cleans the machines

He cares for their gears

He oils them to life

And the machines stamp their logos

Like an elefant on slab of wet cement

Yet more graceful

A swan perhaps

Churning through the machines are the red markers.

And green. And Blue. And orange.

Sliding down the grate into boxes to be shipped, into cars to be driven, into planes to be flown

Into stores to be sold.

That mornig, a boy wakes up.

Its Saturday. Its time for an activity. Time to finish a coloring assignement from school

Mom goes through the drawers that house the markers

We are out of Red.

Lets get a new box.

The boy is placed into the front seat

In a 2009 mini van

The van starts

It drives past mailboxes

It drives past firehydrants

People walking their dogs

Or the other way around

The car makes it to the store.

Looks for a parking spot.

Frustration.

All the spots are taken.

Well, most of them.

But she doesn't want to park far.

She does want to walk

The boy exits the van, and holds the hand of his Mom.

Safety

They walk to the store, past parked cars and the frustrated adults waiting for open spots to open.

THe Friendly colors welcome them, the cool air inside refreshes them, the friendly workers greet them.

They look for the sign that says School Supplies

Or Office Supplies

Same thing

They ask a friendly associate. They find what they are looking for

They find the markers

Stamped

Gracefully.

They pick up the package and throw it into their basket

And they walk away

With the red marker

And somehow that red marker got lost.

Possibly in a classroom

Possibly along the sidewalk

And somehow it ended up in this cup in front of me