Every Night

Underfoot there is moss, dirt, sand, bones, golden grass

Glancing back only once

Push push push

The twigs snap and branches whip at your face

Keep going

Labored breathing and a pain in your side

Your mouth, your head, you arm, your ribcage

Under a bed, under a table, up a tree, over a fence

Push push push

Don’t look back

It’s a creature, a monster, a demon, a vice, a teacher, a foe, a cop

Every night when the clock strikes ten and the sun rises

You go

You’ve got no choice

Go go go go

Push yourself

No one knows what happens if you stop

It might eat you, jail you, scold you

You can’t stop till you sit up

And turn on your light

Now breathe