Under Pressure

a Poem by Raquel Swann

I am a dam protecting

A city from ruin.

An unwatched pot

Coming to a boil.

A parachute as others

Approach the ground.

For if I fail,

What will become of them?

Forsaking happiness

For the pleasure of those

Who no longer care.

What if I could live

Under the dam

On the edge

While others stand ground?

Could I not turn on the stove

And walk away from

A different pot?

Could I not leap from

An airplane hoping

Someone else will open for me?

There are rewards to reap

With unwavering vigilance!

I can’t see beyond these

Walls I have built.