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You should be used to this
Already
After a lifetime of
Walking on eggshells around
Everything and everybody
So as not to break
Not to hurt
Not to offend
Unnecessarily
Or even to some degree
Justifiably
An eye for an eye
As they say
Simply because you know
Everyone must answer
To a higher reasoning power
Than that of men

But for a while now
You’ve been increasingly swaying
Back and forth
Left and right
At first almost unnoticeably
But now the clear sign
Of eventually losing
Your long-held balance

Of course no one
Understands why
Because no one can feel
The never-ending strain
In your head-to-toe
Muscles
And no one can see
The weight of
Souls upon souls
Pressing on your shoulders
Which are sadly
Still unsupported
By a matching pair of
Sturdy wings

You feel the eyes set on you
Intently
Slowly filling up with tears
Warm salty expressions of emotion
Small tokens of appreciation
You should be receiving with
Gratitude
Except they are not really
For you
But for themselves

Because
Whatever will they do
When their favourite
Circus acrobat will surrender
To the inevitable fall
And there will be no
Safety net
To be caught in

(2024)

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