Open your eyes.
A pit in the stomach.
There is no way out.
Sent to the gallows.
By those who love you!
By those whom you love!
A hug, a kiss. A glass of milk.
Nausea.
Something’s wrong!
Must be you.
A lamb to the slaughter.
Chop, chop.
A dress, a ponytail.
The sweetest of lambs,
Off to war.
A leaky water bottle,
Weak knees.
Put in the hours,
Earn your freedom.
A fair exchange!
The bus ride is fun.
There are friends.
There is a breeze,
A view from the top.
Someone brought popcorn.
Enter the factory.
A sense of waste.
A loss of all the little things.
It’s mainly just boredom.
That, and a hankering
for a pat on the head.
On the worst days,
we watch others,
slapped in the face.
A horrific thrill,
the thrilling horror.
What a relief!
It wasn’t you.
Keep your head down.
We keep our heads down.
No excitement Shall be tolerated
Unless it’s been
Pre-approved.
Go, Team!
A despicable place.
A place you belong.
Are you despicable too?
Either that or you are great!
Glorious in your suffering!
Just you wait!
Just you watch!
Men in Suits.
Bald. Bespectacled. Old.
Fly, you bug.
Watch your back!
A constellation of Superiors.
A looming threat.
Of what? Not sure. Something.
The instinct to get up and run
Is turned to sitting.
And sitting.
And sitting.
In the ranks the gentle are ridiculous.
Motherly, and so, ridiculous. Idiotic even.
A few of us learn to play the game.
Scramble to the top.
Deer in headlights,
surprised by our success.
We win medals!
Life is good!
Here we are.
In the headlights -
holding a medal.
We won! We won.
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