I find it inspirational when my phone dies because I
don’t think I’ve ever given anything 100%, personally.
Even when I ran a 4:40 mile in high school, I bet I was
only at ~96% of my max possible exertion. I’d probably
need to be chased by a ravenous lion or tiger to hit 100%.
Even this poem just occurred to me on a lark while I
lay and stretched my back on the floor and then saw a
hawk, way up in the sky, soaring, likely also not giving it
100%, at least not at that particular moment, though I’m
sure hawks do give various things their all at various
points in time. During the hunting and the killing, for e.g.
No, when I saw the hawk, he or she or they was probably
just coasting. Coasting out of my view as he or she or
they eclipsed the boundaries of the frame of the
rectangular glass pane of the sliding doors
that open out into the backyard. Then I
got up and gave this poem about ~67%.
If you think you deserve more than that, a)
you do and I’m sorry but b) remember, you’re
not a ravenous lion. Or tiger. Once you’ve
transformed, give me a call. I’ll keep my phone
charged, even if that means nothing of mine
is giving anything 100% of itself. I’ll do that for you.
Nick van Osdol enjoys reading and writing fiction and poetry. Across art forms, he is drawn to scenes of decay, as well as the glimmering possibility, ever present, of retribution, revitalization, redemption, a revanchist arc, amidst it. His day job focuses on advancing otherwise underfunded climate research and climate change intervention efforts. He likes his 1991 Mazda B2200 more than you and probably always will, and likes film and digital photography, too.
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