Enslavement

I'm tired – I need a good rest without the stress
of smiling as Sisyphus

I need work that's doable in the day,
or week or month, at least someday
I need my responsibilities reasonable,
even if not easily reachable
I need the ears above me to hear
and make change not to the dance, but the stage

I need my value verified,
by reducing the excusing
of the subtle deoxygenation of all the souls in the room

And we wonder why we walk this line shorter and shorter,
feeling shorted more and more of the time
a pervasive emptiness growing, no words to fill
...another defeat or keep pushing the rock up the hill