Never bit like the rest of them
Shoved unwarranted expectations
Only clinging to myself
The pressure encompassing
Kettle to pop right when they want
Devoured before I knew me
I’m not that interesting
Everyone needs to play or fight
Made to fit various parts
Conscripted too young
Can’t be left alone
Everyone is too preoccupied to leave
Like I have all the ingredients
I’m merely others’ outlets for scorn and love
Lost in their fists and arms
Have to polish my knees for traction
Passed around like an envelope
My glue not so firm from abrasion
Don’t know how to barter
Just shouldering with other masks dictating their wants
Queuing up to me like I got something to offer
Can’t even breathe
Their altitude has me compromised
Leaving the oxygen depleted
Dizzy as I find my way.
Raymond Hoffman has a background in political science and Southeast Asian Studies. He has taught in China for many years and currently is a fifth grade teacher in the Midwest. Poetry writing has been used by him as a coping mechanism for bipolar disorder for over a decade now. Sylvia Plath has always been a great source of inspiration, as has been Albert Camus. He has previously been published in the Humans of the World literary blog, Beyond Words Literacy Magazine, and Cathexis Northwest Press.
Comments