Wishing for the End

by Aren Lau

Why does the world have to be round?
Why can’t it be flat, so I could run to the edge
away from responsibility,
from fear,
from this cycle of stress,
Everything?
Why do I have to be human?
Why not a rock, or a maple tree,
or hell, even a Dachshund?
Why not a cheetah, so the
highway in front of me doesn’t seem
endlessly far away
despite how far I’ve come
despite how tired my legs are,
how empty my lungs?
Why am I alive?
Why am I stuck here?
I didn’t ask for this.
No matter how far I go
my identity always follows
Why, my god, if there is one,
Why am I trapped?
The sun takes so long to rise
So long to set
If there’s an ending in place,
I’d like to see it
And I’d like to go down with it, smiling,
in flames.