A Carefree Kind of Life

A Poem

Photo by Taylor Hugh on Unsplash

be at ease —
i wish i could make those words
my mantra of choice
to get through the dregs of today.

i feel a riot
in the cage of my chest
as if my heart’s knocking
against a locked door.

and there’s no reprieve
from the noise
bickering and bickering
in my restless mind.

it would be so simple
to flip a switch,
cutting off the circuits
driving me insane.

be at ease —
oh, how lovely it would be
to take those words
just to make them mine.

but they’re someone else’s
like stolen keys
or mistaken identities
in a mystery.

tomorrow i’ll be able
to play at this game again
and smile my way
through these ashes of a life.