trudgery

choose a chute

coiled and twisted 

woven silver 

a flexible

resilient

adaptable 

foil slide through which 

a bloody traveler glides on

a smooth and rapid journey from 

top to bottom from a

beginning to an end of

another nexus

choose a staircase 

wooden and polished whereby

each ponderous step produces an

echo reverberating through 

soundless hallways jarring loose

countless thoughts imprinted amongst 

worthless sets of words that set free

nothing but drudgery and breathlessness and dusty tracks pointing

backwards 

and yes 

you of course 

preferred the chute to the staircase 

the racing down to trudging up

©Karen Casady2020