Answering the Bell (A Poem)

I wake up each morning tired and aching

Feeling as though life has left me beaten down and bruised.

Some of it is wear and tear or mistreatment.

Plenty more of it was from my own misuse.

The weight of the world sometimes seems so heavy I can’t breathe.

Other times, the stress of life makes me want to go off some place to scream and yell.

Yet, despite all of this, I still get up in the morning.

I keep answering the bell.

There are days when I wonder if anything will ever go right for me.

Or, if the rut I’m stuck in will ultimately wind up being my fate.

There just never seems to be enough free time or money in the bank.

The bills get paid, but they are usually late.

I’ve made plenty of mistakes

And have sometimes said things that shouldn’t have been spoken.

And, I’ve lost score of the times

I’ve hurt someone or had my own heart broken.

I’ve lost people I cared about

Which makes me think more about my own mortality.

Is this all there is?

Or, is there something greater waiting for me?

I surely hope there’s a Heaven

Because I’ve spent many days feeling like I was walking barefoot through Hell.

I don’t know if I’ll come out of this a winner or a loser, I just know I won’t come out of this alive.

So all I can do is take the worst life gives me and keep answering the bell.