Orders

Another day in Tir na nOg
quiet and soft
damp air, drizzling rain
a few cars pass
clouds pass over the
hill, trees drip
and the house is still

a Monday in my mind
but I cannot lift the whip -
I sit and read
as the clock ticks
there is no-one to stand
over me and yell
'obey', deride me
with their words, soil me
with their shit, own me
and my day

it will take another
lifetime for me to
learn to live without
forced labour
and all the grit I've known

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