A huge deception

Held out too far to reach, right in front of us

Even by those we trust

It’s behind all the tears that leak out of our eyes

Our sighs, our cries of desperation

And frustration

How do we pick ourselves back up alone?

No courage left to be loaned

No self confidence to build on

Never seems like there’s a dawn coming

Only darkness

We tell ourselves we aren’t missed

We know only disappointment

We’ve twisted and bent

To fit into their boxes of what’s appropriate

There’s no way to alleviate the pressure

To them we are only a treasure

If we sever whatever part of us doesn’t fit what they idealize

No matter the self sacrifice

Or how much our true selves die

They only care about the perfect image

They are held hostage by their failure

To be what their own parents wished

In reality, they are climbing out of their own ditch

You see it’s a cycle

Any attempt to escape is futile

It takes a toll on everyone

It was done to them as well

But they fell into failure all the same

So they turned to the kids

And forbid the things that they think are bad

For the next generation

There’s never any relaxation

Because there’s always “room to improve”

Can we choose not to care?

To not bear this everlasting burden?

You would have thought we’d be learning

Or turning to a more realistic goal

To ease our souls

To release the stress that feels like it will eat us alive

To not feel ashamed when we cry

To appreciate all efforts

So we don’t have to resort

To desperate measures

To not suffocate in the curse of wanting

Perfection

Did I mention the depression?

Time to realize that our fate

Doesn’t lead us in a perfect straight line

It swerves, turns, curves and intertwines