"The Malfunctioning Overachiever" series – Page 2 – The Daily Writing of Jackie Wright

Running In Place

They are building a new house in my local park.

I have been running there for a whole year,

Been tripping over my shoelaces in the dark.

And I have no problem admitting my fears –

Change feels like a burden to me these days,

I am too afraid to ever hold something dear.

The sun keeps showering me with pity rays.

They tell me that headlights killed the deer.

Happy tears roll down my face like on cue,

I overstress about how I seem and appear.

You know the feeling, I really hope you do,

Because for the first time I truly need you here.

It is not a rut, it is not that I have grown blue.

I just cannot run on empty for another year.

-JW

All the greatest facades have cracks if you look from the other side.

I get tired of playing an open book when I remember all those little things

That I must always hide.

No, you could never imagine the weight I carry behind my solar plexus.

My eyes pull you in but just you wait, one day you will see the darkness,

So gloomy, so reckless.

My well-kept secrets will keep me from ascending to the red throne.

I know that my own nature will keep me pinned down to the ground

Until I am sooty and alone.

-JW