Work Ethic

I am heavy with exhaustion.
The world pulls at my eyes,
Beckoning me with a spotlight
Showing me visions of myself.
“Do more, fight, try”
Like I can live every instance of being
If I just work hard enough.
But my fingers bleed into the keys,
And my eyelids show bright lights
Of computer screens in the dark,
And my mind races
With everything I’ve yet to do
So that I can do
Everything I’ve yet to do.
“Work hard and you’ll achieve”
Flashes before me,
spoon fed to any who would turn a neck
And listen to the ideas
That promised a fantasy in life
If you’d only surrender
Your freedom.