Yes, I know it is a trite clause
But can I, please, please press pause?
Set the cruise control for my mind
Or maybe, possibly, even rewind?
The wick
It burns down to a speck
The tick
And tock go on to this wreck
I pile on
Ignoring each pylon
Each cautionary sign
For the destruction that is mine
I've got to put a stop to this: my strife
I've got too little time to miss my life
How soon till I crumble?
Will someone get me out of the rubble?
Or can someone pose as my double
To keep me out of trouble
And not burst my bubble?
Keep me thinking "I can"
Keep me pushing for it all
Or show me that I can't
Show me the wall
The wall that is reality
That despite my ability
I can't take on the world
No, I'm not "just a girl"
But I am human
I'm not a superhero with superhuman strength
I can't leap buildings 400 feet in length
I can't fight bad guys, save lost souls
Nor can I take on this life, these roles:
Student, co-chair, athlete, designer,
Friend, friend-girl, member, daughter
Where is the writer, singer, thinker, sleeper?
But how can I be free when all yell, "Keep her!"?
Excellence in all I'm not capable of giving
But excellence in none won't keep me living
Mediocrity be mine?
I don't want to settle
Yet at the same time
This kettle
Is about to heat up
The whistle, go off
The wick, burn out
The walls, cave in
My back, give way
My mind, burst open
My self, break down
Is this a preview of what is to come?
At the end of it all, is this the sum?
An unhappy life of deliverables and deadlines
"Yearning to Press Pause" as my life's headline?
Of course, I would be avoiding the breadlines
But would that matter without time to eat a crumb?
