He moved up the expiration date -- cutting my childhood short
With the blade of Time’s impatient sword -- faster than I could run.
Always chasing life.
Never stopping, always take, take, take,
Never pausing for just a moment to appreciate the steps and talks and stars,
The things we learn to disregard in order to get work done.

Somehow never fast enough,
Never keeping up.
All I want is a break, a breather for goodness sake,
But my chest hurts too much.
I am too accustomed to the back and forth,
The ups and downs of my overworked lungs.
Counting sheep to fall asleep yet facing up -- I lie awake --
Caffeinated by my unsettled thoughts that never take the slightest break,
To leave me alone, for an hour at least, all I ask is for an hour to shake away
The troubles of the day and lie here in peace --
For once.

He made life fly by, took my early memories,
No sympathy to my weak, aching limbs.
Made sleep a cuss in my mind for I feared nothing more than to miss a single
Beating moment upon the drum of reverberating Life that would stroll while I was awake,
Yet race the moment I drifted off, chasing the clock, leaving me in the dust -- lost.

Life cruising by, wind whipping my hair,
But I’m tired of the feeling of always running the hamster wheel -- a constant rush --
To no destination, trying to shed, to peel away this persistent feeling that the day is Unfinished.

Stop.
I set the gear back in park, lean back for a while,
Sit still, eyes closed, reclined back -- sinking in the deep realm of my thoughts --
Dreams never uncovered because I never gave them the chance.
One sheep...two sheep...three…

He moved up the expiration date -- without me.