Mind's Labor Camps
by Odin Roark

As one's sun rises

How surreal the sky seems
When suspension relies only on hope
Where sunlight can sear the mind's cornea
Rain make murky the vision
And air never carry
Fragrance of flowers
Only odorous threats
Of anticipated pain

Such becomes an illusion
Realized in the mind's solitary struggle
From birth to death
Parental captivity
To corporate slavery
Through familial obsessions

As acquiescence
Battles tenacity's belligerence
Ethereal puppet strings
Hold
Break
Dangle lifeless

Struggling efforts
Gravel among the residuum
Victims of solipsism
Fighters of munificence
The crawling
The stumbling
The running
Eventually becoming aware
Conquering odds
Is by choice

As one's sun sets