Why do I do the daily grind

Same routine 5 days a week

Up at 6 am, brush my teeth, shower

Wash my hair, style to that barbie doll look

Only to be pony-tailed in the heat of the day

Dress in the same conformist clothes

Wear the same conservative makeup

Later coming home to who I really am

Tank top, jeans, and comfy sandals

Tending a garden, writing a poem

Or perhaps listening to music or watching a movie

Why do I sit at that big desk in the small office

Tabletops riddled with senseless papers

Staring at the computer screen

Writing boring technical documents

For a seldom-viewed handbook

Living on energizer drink to keep myself awake

Pausing every so often to fantasize

About what I could have been

What would happen if I won the lottery

Or the big payoff at the slots

Or I married a millionaire

Eventually reality sets in

I could be without the alarm clock

Without the shower

Without the clothing

And without the job

Like so many others are these days

Sure I’d be free of that which “controls” me

But I’d also be without that which challenges me

And a paycheck doesn’t necessarily bring happiness

But it sure makes it easier to get those things I enjoy

So that’s why 5 days a week

I get up at 6 am, brush my teeth, shower…