in our sleep, we dream of numbers—
the percentiles and projection ranges—
cradling side by side comparisons of where we are now and where we want to be.
we awake to the dawn with perspiration dripping down our spines.
panic gives life to our shaky skeletons, forcing our vertebrates upright.
we dance and dance and dance,
desperate to outrun the past,
desperate to change the future,
desperate to be any place else but here.
so, we find ourselves pushing against the current,
finding ourselves being lured by the luminescence of the stage.
eventually, we come to realize that
we are not chasing the light for its
promise of radiance...
we are running in hopes of one day
escaping the captivity of the dark.