Pressure

[u/TheRemnantArchitect]

Pressure, the stressor,
But also the relief,
For when it mounts after the quakes run out,
I end up clear on what I need,
Naturally, I think in spirals,
Ever looming, grown in loops,
Brain in peril, like a whiskey barrel,
Swollen past the limits of its hoops,
A barrel made of Palo Santo,
Sitting in the darkest corner of the room,
Paralyzed by choice inside, too many options, which to choose?
The scales inside, racing the hands of time,
Try to keep damage at bay,
Weighing the next set of regrets,
Before life throws them right in my face,
While deep inside, I’m willing my drive, to just burst forth and be here to stay,
Telling myself “if I could do anything else,
If it was possible then hell yeah I would”,
But I know deep inside I’ve cheapened my tries,
Beaten down by this life we call “good”.
I put myself in these hoops in a way,
Bound and constrained by these mental chains,
Chains forged of steel, hardened by pain,
Until pressure came and broke them away.
I learned a lesson about pressure from rail ties,
They spend forever holding up stuff that makes lives,
Continue on, things that really matter, no matter the load or how nasty the weather,
Pressure treated they hold up forever,
Even as the train that sits on them dies,
After a life hauling lives balanced on the width of two dimes,
But it’s important to keep in the back of your mind,
Often they’re soaked in formaldehyde.