A Proper Life and a Creative Death

“man in maroon suit jacket beside window with railings” by Heng Films on Unsplash

So often the expectations of society
eat the true expectations
of the artist’s heart.

Yes, I can stuff that knickknack full of
more doohickeys for cookie crumbs all day,
but the hours you’ve stolen from my life
has shaved another century off my
creative soul.

I will scratch my words on the wall
of your prison cell regardless, in defiance
of your heartless societal entropy.

A Proper Life and a Creative Death was originally published in Lit Up on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.