Scribbled Thoughts

Provoke the presentation

to increase stress

and resentment,

slash and pile

until all is buried

and you stand on top

of a fallen empire,

wondering where

it all went wrong.

Plan with the news

and organise a life

that offers breathing room

but more work,

yet other plans are in motion,

cutting off the opportunity

and closing in

so only shallow intakes

can be grasped

until you black out

from lack of oxygen.

Seal eyes shut

with sticky illness,

closing them from morning

unless you pry the lids apart,

too vulnerable to face the day

but too responsible to hide away

and let the darkness

feel sorry for you.

Ringing and throbbing,

a constant ache you can’t ignore

and can’t fall into oblivion

to avoid,

sit as nothing,

worthless and wasteful,

waiting for relief

that refuses to visit.

Survival choices

depending on a click,

so pay attention

and feel the pressure

before I crawl out of your mind

and reveal the real reason

you like to watch me suffer,

you like to be a God.

Follow a calling

that buries your nature,

slowly drowning what you were

and creating a puppet

to dance on strings

and destroy the world.

Recount the learnt

and see if skills have blossomed,

or whether imitation

is all you’re capable of

and wait for others

to realise the truth.

Sinking into solid ground,

your meaning already out of sight,

buried where you can’t reach

so you’re forced to face

the world alone,

but all you can do

is stay crouched

and desperately claw

beneath your feet.