The Wrestling Match (2.4.18)

I swing and I miss

He throws a single punch and I start to hurt

And with another, I fall to the ground

He keeps me pinned down.

How did I get here?

I don’t even know the rules.

My heart is racing

Mind is overwhelmed

I’m out of breath

From the crowd I hear

Their repetitive shouts

Get up!

But it’s not that easy.

Maybe if I ate more before the match

They tell me.

Maybe if I got more sleep

They tell me

Here take this magic pill they say

Take this pill and it won’t happen again

Take this pill and everything will be fixed.

But tomorrow night he pins me down again

I muster up the energy

I stand up for the next round

His arms come hurling towards me

I try to block his attacks

But it’s no use.

I want to quit,

To tap my hand on the ground below me

And tell my opponent that

I’m tired of fighting.

All I want is to tap out.

But I can’t

The crowd tells me not to.

Even my opponent

Is sick of wrestling someone who

Doesn’t know the rules

Someone who can barely put up a fight.

He tells me I’m not cut out for this fight.

Tells me all the ways I can quit

That I can slam my palm on the

Floor of the boxing ring, or,

If I felt like mixing it up

I could use my other hand

Or a foot instead.

The crowd shouts their

Advice from the sidelines

“Just fight.”

“It’s not difficult”

“Stay strong”

But I’ve become weak.

To my family,

I’m their little fighter

To my family

There is no tap out

If I quit, they’d never sleep

So they tell me to keep fighting.

I’ve got coaches

Who try to teach me new moves

But I’m tired of learning them.

They tell me not to tap out

That this is a very important match.

They can teach me moves all they want

They can ask me to learn them

But when the bell rings

I’m the one in the ring

And they can only watch.