Grey Shadow

The frustration of life.

The absolute and direct pang,

Like death but harsher,

Like fire but so much more brazen.

Every word I write,

Every problem I solve,

The paper sizzles when my fingers touch it,

The images burn my eyes.

My mind is crushed in despair.

Fatigue arrives.

I feel my tear ducts swell,

I see the ink lines run.

My father tells me to persevere,

My mother tells me to comply,

But the elephant, the elephant...

It hurts me.

Towering over, covering me in its shadow,

The grey darkness cloaks me.

I look up and see its foot,

It presses me like a stamp pad.

My mind explodes,

I writhe and weep.

As I'm dying, it lifts the foot.

It always leaves me within an inch of death.

I lay crushed and useless,

My body tries to retract itself to function.

I feel the grey shadow lurking,

I look up to see the foot.

My father tells me to persevere,

My mother tells me to comply,

But the elephant, the elephant...

It hurts me.