Downward

Downward 1/18/2013

I am a checklist
And I am a tool
Used as long as its cost effective
And then thrown out
When I am done.

Others control my life
And a committee determines
How much I am worth
And how much I’ll make.

They will look at the checklist
And they will look at my name
Determining what I bring home.
Just enough for the minimums
To cover what I’m loaned.

They never knew me
And they never will
Just a cog in a machine
Rusted and stuck.

Expendable as an allen wrench
But ready when I am called
Just to nod my head
And do what I am told.

Dumb enough to ask for more
But smart enough to understand
That integrity has no value
And truth is risky, worthless, and dumb.

They know I’ll spend the money
And then come back again
None the wiser and wasted
Just like I always was.

We circle the drain
For weeks, months, and years
Unable or unwilling
To stop or question.

We spin our wheels
And dream of a perfect life
One that never happens
And one that never will.

You can hope all you want
And you can dream
In the middle of the day
But no man can erase
What he has never done.

I am free to drink and eat
Until they tell me I can’t
And I am free to think what I will
Until they know what it is.

I could quit today
But they know that I won’t
Spending my days
In day dreams
Of a world that never was.

But no one gets it all
And no one gets out alive
Everyone and everything
Sucked down the drain.

On the other side of the sewer
I pray there is paradise
Because I’ve seen enough to know
That all of this is wasted
And almost out of breath.