A man,
Shackled and toiling in the hot summer sun
Looks upon the great work he has done and feels nothing
This man,
Works his whole life to pay a debt
Dropped onto him upon birth
Like original sin
That man,
Sweating and working and wasting away in the broiling heat
Sows his last seeds
Lays his last bricks
Shines his last shoes
To earn back money he never spent
To cover a balance he never owed
An old man,
Buys some hard earned land with his hard earned cash
To finally build a home of his own
This old man,
Planned to build his house by hand,
Brick by brick
Planned to grow his own food
Furrow by furrow
Planned to shine his own shoes to like new
Shoe by shoe
That old man,
Too old to build his own home
Or grow his own food
Or shine his own shoes
Exhausted from his lifetime of hard work
Lays down on the empty dirt plot of land he bought
And with a tear in his eye, he whispered to the earth,
“I will never lay another brick, even to build my own home
“I will never sow another seed, even to feed my own hunger
“I will never shine my own shoes, even to look out on all I have done and be proud
“I can no longer do these things I love for myself
“After a lifetime of doing them for someone else
“But at least,
“Now I am free.”
Posts
