I click along like a broken bike
with the chain misaligned
I work like a computer
overheating from the stress
I’m not sure why I’m trying so hard
or why I feel no progress
I’m pretty sure it’s pointless,
like my mom planting tomatoes right before a storm
but I was raised by her, and
“anything worth doing is worth overdoing”
even if I’m agitated, like a blender
on high when she used to make me smoothies
even if I live sleepless
like she does on summer nights when I don’t come home
even if I cry, like I can never
remember her doing when I was a kid
it’s for my own good