Tick Tock

The years have dripped away, I went from 20 to 28

In the blink of an eye, and found myself nowhere.



Back then I worked the warehouses, busting my ass, for a payday

Talking to myself, half crazy, “Don’t worry, you’ll soon be an emperor,

Just a little while longer.”

While the guy next to me has been at it for over 30 years,

Soon to retire on nothing.

Coming and going, watching his co-workers retire, die, get fired,

Make supervisor, go crazy, or just not show up for their shift;

Having moved on to something else.



After my shift, I learned to drink,

And allowed myself to be broken by love

And learned that being alone

Is good for the living.

Sipping a can of beer in the sun,

Cigarette in hand, and beat up from the shift,

I thought I would be young forever.



But someday soon I WILL DIE,

There isn’t any other way.



Yet the never-ending cycle of repetitive lifting continues,

And no matter what they say, no educational institution

Is going to save me.

The time clocks I’ve punched in and out of for years,

Are laughing at me, mocking me,

“All hail the emperor,” they snarl,

As I come and go.