By Nakeem Purkiss

It's hard to know where I'm going when I live,
slogging through work every day
wondering, "who will even notice if I leave"
as important as I may be
captain of a fleet without redundancy

It's hard to know where I'm going when
the last plank of the ship drifts away and I -
I was taught how to swim but
I only remember how to float
and nobody told me my cardboard boat
wouldn't float

It's hard to know where I'm going when
I'm front and center
drowning in a mosh pit of sweat
and body odor shoved where it doesn't belong
this band plays my favorite song

It's hard to know where I'm going when
the sea numbs my soul until I forget to feel
koi fish fins scrape sweat from skin
I yearn for mutual admiration
unfamiliar to my kin

I don't know where I'm going
when I no longer live
but I want one person I've never met
to miss me when I'm gone
because I'm afraid
no one will miss me when I'm gone

it's hard to know where I'm going when
the currents move me in unknown directions
and I'm looking in the wrong direction