They all crawl and claw their way to the top,

or to just above the bottom

- depending on where everyone awaits.

Their watches are ticking,

they're rolling their eyes,

"I knew they couldn't do it."

"I'm honestly not sure why I expected such things from you."

"That's just not good enough."

These words, they etch into the skulls of their children

forgetting the term that they always used to say,

"Think before you speak."

Hypocrisy and lies are all we know

it's burning us out

we're losing hope,

our bodies are bruised,

our hands are raw.