Jeremy C Kester

a poem

There is much to be done
Stacks of endless work
Painfully close to falling
Toppling over to crush me
Even as I toil still
Ignorance of my suffocation
Stings my eyes
Keeping them closed to truth
Break free only a hope
A small piece of a note
Whispered by her
Breath dying under weight
Work piling more upon more
Someone says it is important
To whom? Do I believe so?
It is all a tradeoff
Their dreams for my own
Satisfying only for their lust
Their goals, their whims
Their success ladened with my effort
Will I be willing to say no?
Blocking off my own dreams
Cradling them with love
Turn my efforts into my prize
Maybe then a life I will live
Worth in pursuit and sweat
To achieve what I may
With work always remaining
Through for a righteous purpose

Photo and words copyright © 2026 by Jeremy C Kester – all rights reserved.
Note: this is also cross-posted to Poetically Unlicensed on Substack.

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