Hamster Wheel Poem by Raj Dronamraju

After an eight hour shift, you massage the calluses on the bottom of your feet
Soak them in a tub of hot water and salt
Scrape off the dead skin while your feet are still wet

Today morning break was cancelled because two other employees were out sick
You do not complain, you are fully treadmill indoctrinated
You are the kind of person who would walk by a fatal heart attack in progress without doing anything to help

You are the kind of person the family relies on as the breadwinner
A single parent supporting the world on her back
On a mechanized unemotional day to day march

Keep moving with goals blinkered and reactions minimized
Running on the wheel, the wheel recycles itself
You are the reduction of thought and choice
Your demands for survival keep you running in place