Momentum, a poem by Abhinav Aradhi

 

       Momentum

From the moment

You are given vitality,

You are a worker.

Prepare for hard labor.

 

You will not cease your march,

For if you do,

The world will overtake you.

There’s no prize for second place.

 

So keep running,

Until you find yourself hard of breath,

Until your lungs attempt collapse,

Until you quit.

 

You cannot stop.

You forfeit your right to stop

Once you pass a decade.

Guess you should have thought before you grew up.

 

It’s your fault, isn’t it?

For not getting it all in order,

For not divining the future.

Sucker.

 

Get your head in the game,

You can’t afford to timeout.

Time doesn’t take breaks,

Not for you.

 

Look around you.

Look at all those people,

Who’ve got dollars lining their skin,
And gilded footsteps.

 

Listen,

Listen to the sounds of success,

And how it emanates from them,

Despite not being a fathomable sound.

 

Feel it,

Feel the stone lining your shoes.