How Long

The clock keeps ticking
And days keep passing on
Your mind refrained from thinking
Forced into one motion of moving on

Routine takes its effect
You caring hasn't happened yet
Then there's a few hours for you to reflect
And you slowly realize routine involves owing a debt

Other's opinions and expectations
Are now something you reconsider
Is it really what you need for a foundation?
Is this even a part of you that you should consider?

It all meant something but now you feel trapped
Stuck in an infinite loop with less of yourself
No time away from the stress that's always intact
The hours of reflection breaking off of time itself

What once made you fearless
What once helped you to survive
What once made you feel like you were living
What once showed light instead of darkness
What once showed something true to you
What once made you feel understood

Is now disappearing with the tasks you have to take for others
And you tell yourself, "I'm not living, I'm just filling up time."

But you have to forget the ideas and accept it
Take in the opinions of others and tolerate routine
Make yourself up with pieces of others that don't exactly fit
Forget the things that gave your life purpose and what they used to mean

You need to be strong so that others survive
Time and routine needs someone to pay to be alive

-Anonymous