(Poem) Chained to Life

I am chained to life

Tethered by the weight of family

Tied down by expectations that never end

Dragged down to earth

Pressured by a clock of excellence

My fingers owned, my body theirs to order

My will inside, a mechanism to be discarded

and ignored

My passions funneled like a machine

Into the endlessness of productivity

— never let up, never let go

I, the puppet execute my twirl

and do what’s forced upon me

I am both dancer and droid

who fulfills my given role.

Live and outlive those before me

Work and out work those I’m told

I must compete against.

For an exit is not an option,

Not even when I am dead.

[Poem from Lost Daylight (Record of Poetry Series, Vol 6)]

Buy Now: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6R88Q4Z

~ Davena Hoskins

Co-Author of 27 books — D.J. Hoskins | Primary Author of 8 Poetry Books