Early

Early again cries the howling box from the nearby stand

Groans and moans fill the crisp air like daggers of exasperation.

Warm water washes over to soothe making me feel grand

A sharpened and uniform checklist cuts into my brain forming lacerations,

Has it already been this long? Time slips with a light fight

Minutes are crucial, cannot be late, mustn’t be late

Lord forbid one minute slip too late, 

The boss has a precise device, it will know if I arrive late

Leaves toss and turn with each step I make until I take flight steering the car yonder.

Eyes burning like the sting from a summer’s bee causes me to knead the sleep away from them

A side strike on my side rolls me into a perpetual spiral catching the dawns early light.

I hand’t taken the time to look both ways, perhaps if I didn’t omit, I wouldn’t have taken a flip

If only not so strained, if only not so drained, and if only not so pained

Perhaps without that, it could have altered this untimely fate.

Regardless, maybe this will finally give me peace

And maybe bestow me some rest

Never to arise early… Again.

• This poem targets how Western society demands so much of each person that we become pushed past the brink and end up becoming harmed. It especially targets strenuous jobs that demand us to be on time by the dot no exceptions, cold and calculated, they'll drain your worth until there's but a hollow shell.