The path

We wound our way
Through the cement walkway
Trying to compete

Not sure of the task
But desperate for attention
(It was important to be chosen
Even if you didn’t want the prize)

One woman jumped the railing
Because she was so eager to get
An advantage
Or at least that’s what I thought

But now that I think back
She might have been trying to escape

The messages written in blood
should have been my first clue
something was
wrong
but if everyone’s bleeding
that’s not abnormal
anymore

Running was either trying too hard
Or not wanting to try at all

I tripped over my own feet and was
Pushed from behind
To keep going
Or to be left for dead

(Dead contestants were frowned upon)

This wasn’t as nice
As I thought it would be
It’s anodyne
Is that what it’s supposed to be like?
There’s so much cement

I wasn’t sure why I cared
But everyone else
Seemed to
I wasn’t allowed to turn around
Or look back
Because
this was the path I was supposed to
Be on

We were given a rose
And delighted by a smile
(Or was it a grimace?)
By the man
At the end of our journey

And then taken
to the abattoir
Where we were slaughtered
A few moments later

After being forced
To watch footage
of ourselves
On the path
To get here