When worlds collide

The parallel universe of crisis management is strange,  
but navigating two worlds at once is stranger.  
This time, I'm flung off life's treadmill  
on to some faraway beaten track,  
yet with one foot still in the here and now.  
attempting to maintain a semblance of routine  
and my presence in the workplace.  

Half of me operates in slow motion;  
living from moment to moment,  
putting out fires  
and negotiating the unknown.  
The other half clings desperately  
to what's normal, and physical, and familiar.  
One world is surreal and intense,  
and the other is mundane,  
It seems surprising that life goes on as normal;  
that there are people in queues, buying milk,  
sitting in traffic jams, watching TV,  
while I'm dealing with life-or-death situations  
and juggling so many opposing needs.  

The people in this strange new world are helpful—  
they speak the language, know what to do  
and can light the way.  
Still, then somebody will ask me,  
"Did you watch the news last night?"  
or "Did you catch the football scores?"  
and I laugh, only half-mirthlessly  
at the absurdity of it all.