shop until you drop
by joaline a. femineaux
wake-up in the morning
shop until you drop
work on through the evening
some things never stop
smile awhile (and stay in file), live the life (don’t blink)
nod, agree (a stronger we): stay in line (don’t think)
____________________
· my name is joaline femineaux.
there’s a feeling, here, a unity. we are the best there is on planet E. our sports teams are the strongest. our militaries are the most lethal. our big-businesses runamuck
smoothly, behind the scenes and (startlingly) in the open.
until this morning, i’ve never (truly) considered leaving the system. i woke-up to this dream:
i was a trusted leader inside of some kind of camp. we wore business suits (and practiced martial arts for fitness & wellness). there was a friend of mine who was mentally challenged, who often spoke (loudly) about oppression. he wanted to leave the camp, but (for his own good) was restrained & locked-up... every time he’d try to escape.
something about him seemed un-strange. he questioned the status quo. he thought it was wrong (when our camp invaded a nearby camp to garner its resources). he didn’t think it was right to just ‘take’ …and he believed that we were the problem, not the solution. he spoke in gloomy, doomy terminology, and (because of his disability) was often sedated by the camp police.
in the dream, i was also his therapist. i began to lessen his medication as his musings seemed to make more and more sense. we were an oppressive camp, after all. many lived in poverty. i (with status and citizenship) lived in peace, freedom, and relative luxury.
his name was leonardo. left unmedicated, he was a lucid man who spoke of freedom and prosperity for all.
at some point in the dream, it became apparent (to me) that leonardo was aware enough to be released from the camp, and that he should be allowed to join the tribe/camp of his own choosing.
the scene shifted to us, in our martial arts attire, accompanied by another compadre who wanted to leave the camp. i’m not sure if my role was to escort them to the border, or if i intended to travel with them. in any event, we were stopped-short of a gate, surrounded by campers (in gear). i can remember their red belts.
they used martial arts to beat & defeat us, and i was labeled a traitor for attempting to set my compadres free. the dream ended with me as a captive, seeking help from anyone who would listen. it was apparent that i had become leonardo: the oppressed, "insane" inmate who desperately wanted to escape the Untied Country. now i was the one who was being sedated by the camp police.
it was obvious (to me) that we (the UC) were the problem, not the solution.
at the same time, there was a feeling that (even if i were to escape) there was nowhere to go. other tribes/camps openly hated our camp, and had fortified their borders. the UC’s propaganda emphasized how horrible life was (outside of our camp), but i had traveled (and i knew that our rhetoric wasn’t completely true).
the dream ends with me, in a cell: contemplating escape; contemplating a return to my former/simpler life as a therapist. if i’d only conform, i might be forgiven. i could return (under watchful eyes) to my former position. maybe (from that level) i could enjoy life again. on the other hand, maybe i could begin an underground group of like-minded souls who could (eventually) escape the UC.
simultaneously, i could see the suicidal risks associated with (1) turning my back against my country, and (2) not being accepted outside of it.
…and that’s when i woke up and wrote this thoem. the title seemed to be screaming at me, so i got out of bed (and expressed).
___________________
martino, j. (1.10-1.2026). shop until you drop. book 130: we are For-Given. © 2026 by wellnesseducation.us
by joaline a. femineaux
wake-up in the morning
shop until you drop
work on through the evening
some things never stop
smile awhile (and stay in file), live the life (don’t blink)
nod, agree (a stronger we): stay in line (don’t think)
____________________
· my name is joaline femineaux.
there’s a feeling, here, a unity. we are the best there is on planet E. our sports teams are the strongest. our militaries are the most lethal. our big-businesses run
until this morning, i’ve never (truly) considered leaving the system. i woke-up to this dream:
i was a trusted leader inside of some kind of camp. we wore business suits (and practiced martial arts for fitness & wellness). there was a friend of mine who was mentally challenged, who often spoke (loudly) about oppression. he wanted to leave the camp, but (for his own good) was restrained & locked-up... every time he’d try to escape.
something about him seemed un-strange. he questioned the status quo. he thought it was wrong (when our camp invaded a nearby camp to garner its resources). he didn’t think it was right to just ‘take’ …and he believed that we were the problem, not the solution. he spoke in gloomy, doomy terminology, and (because of his disability) was often sedated by the camp police.
in the dream, i was also his therapist. i began to lessen his medication as his musings seemed to make more and more sense. we were an oppressive camp, after all. many lived in poverty. i (with status and citizenship) lived in peace, freedom, and relative luxury.
his name was leonardo. left unmedicated, he was a lucid man who spoke of freedom and prosperity for all.
at some point in the dream, it became apparent (to me) that leonardo was aware enough to be released from the camp, and that he should be allowed to join the tribe/camp of his own choosing.
the scene shifted to us, in our martial arts attire, accompanied by another compadre who wanted to leave the camp. i’m not sure if my role was to escort them to the border, or if i intended to travel with them. in any event, we were stopped-short of a gate, surrounded by campers (in gear). i can remember their red belts.
they used martial arts to beat & defeat us, and i was labeled a traitor for attempting to set my compadres free. the dream ended with me as a captive, seeking help from anyone who would listen. it was apparent that i had become leonardo: the oppressed, "insane" inmate who desperately wanted to escape the Untied Country. now i was the one who was being sedated by the camp police.
it was obvious (to me) that we (the UC) were the problem, not the solution.
at the same time, there was a feeling that (even if i were to escape) there was nowhere to go. other tribes/camps openly hated our camp, and had fortified their borders. the UC’s propaganda emphasized how horrible life was (outside of our camp), but i had traveled (and i knew that our rhetoric wasn’t completely true).
the dream ends with me, in a cell: contemplating escape; contemplating a return to my former/simpler life as a therapist. if i’d only conform, i might be forgiven. i could return (under watchful eyes) to my former position. maybe (from that level) i could enjoy life again. on the other hand, maybe i could begin an underground group of like-minded souls who could (eventually) escape the UC.
simultaneously, i could see the suicidal risks associated with (1) turning my back against my country, and (2) not being accepted outside of it.
…and that’s when i woke up and wrote this thoem. the title seemed to be screaming at me, so i got out of bed (and expressed).
___________________
martino, j. (1.10-1.2026). shop until you drop. book 130: we are For-Given. © 2026 by wellnesseducation.us
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