Shifts Poem by David Self

See life for what it is,
People's words and what exists.
Fake moments, empty scripts,
This is life, and this is it.
I wake each day to the same old tune,
Work, eat, sleep, and watch time move.
I've done what I've done to get to this,
And somehow it still takes the piss.
I'm owed nothing, just like the rest,
Yet I still wonder, is this my best?
Opportunities come and opportunities go,
But somehow I'm always saying no.
Maybe now it's time to say yes,
Maybe now it's time to put life to the test.
One way or another, my life deserves more,
Either I try, or I stop keeping score.
If I don't change, this circle won't end,
I'm bored, I'm fed up, I can no longer bend.
Tired of the faces, the places, the play,
Tired of reliving the same old day.
When is enough, enough at last?
Always chasing a future, stuck in the past.
I crave to be valued, though I know I'm not,
Trying to hold on to what little I've got.
I write down songs and I write down poems,
Trying to build something I can call my own.
Maybe nobody listens, maybe nobody cares,
But these words are proof that I was here.
I know there must be something more,
If there isn't, then what is this for?
If I left this world tomorrow to mourn,
Who would remember that I was born?
Time moves by like drifting clouds,
Like a clock, it never slows down.
And age keeps pushing us further on,
Searching for meaning until we're gone.
So maybe the answer isn't success,
Or proving my worth above the rest.
Maybe it's simply having the nerve
To chase the life I know I deserve.