Jesus Christ #164

At times you come across information 
that hardly seems believable, until you fact-
check and find out it's true. For instance, 
pineapples take anywhere between 18 months 
and two years to grow. Ophthalmologists say 
you'll make fewer and fewer tears as you get older, 
though this doesn't guarantee you'll have less to feel 
sad about. Today, after a meeting in the conference 
room, I buy a coffee at a crowded bagel shop
and wait in line. When the lady at the counter 
calls "Jesus Christ #164," no one even blinks. 
I watch to see who'll pick up the breakfast 
sandwich, but Jesus Christ has apparently 
given me the slip. Looking around, I don't see
anyone with bits of egg and bagel on their lip 
or beard. Students hunch over their laptops, 
sipping iced lattes; noise-canceling headphones 
cancel out the rest of the world. Some of them
will pass the finals, and others fail despite 
having crammed for it two sleepless nights 
in a row. Outside, the grounds crew bags leaves 
that have fallen. At noon, they'll sit in their truck 
to eat lunch. Maybe one of them will smoke
a cigarette. Maybe they'll come inside to use
the restroom, then think about getting a Coke
or an Americano. Maybe no one here is a god or
everyone is a god, guaranteed some kind of idea
of their fate—Mayflies live only a few hours, luna 
moths about a week. Giant barrel sponges 
have been known to live over 2,000 years. 
When hurt, threatened, or sinking into decay 
on the ocean floor, immortal jellyfish know 
the trick of reversing the life cycle and coming 
back to life. Don't ask me about tomorrow,
though I could perhaps tell you what I plan
to do with the rest of this shortening day.