5. is my time up?

another day,

i’m surprised i’m alive,

sometimes i’m proud

i made it past 19,

thought i almost

lost my life,

even felt like family

didn’t stay on my side,

i was writing

to make it by,

25 albums,

i’m glad i survived,

and i lost a lot

along the way,

but the poetry

helped me deal

with the pain.

but lately,

i’m feeling reflective.

i look back on all

the work i’ve created,

and i wonder

if my time’s up.

i look to when i wrote

album after album

in less than a month,

take a look now

and i’ve been stuck

on 26 for too long.

wondering if i’ve done

all that i could,

if there’s more to say,

if i ran the gamut

and used up my energy

too early on,

now i’m worried

i won’t stay afloat

with the poems.

they’re gonna make

an example of me,

the perennially

starving artist,

longing to prove

he’s got it in the tank,

but he wasted it,

started with a sprint

when he should’ve jogged,

now the creativity is gone,

with too much to do,

will i make the right moves?

will i push through?

am i going the right way,

or is my future path

one of self-destruction?

will i realize my potential,

or fail to make an impact?

is my time up?