Outgrown - the future is hard to carry around

the future is hard to carry around

it is a cloak that outgrew its carrier

it started as a benign scarf

decorating your neck

sometimes discretely choking you

but then loosening again

then it added more and more texture

and covered the shoulders,

and the shoulder blades

and you felt it was just a little bit more difficult

to stand against gravity,

so you toughened up

and raised your shoulders a little bit more,

stiffing your neck,

biting your lips

you were too busy with noticing

the grey hair strands around your forehead,

so the cloak fell further down

over your arms and hands,

and now, every time you acted

you thought twice,

as the future was there

in your hands- they said

later, much later,

you freed your hands,

pushing behind the textile

letting it cover your back,

down your legs,

after all, you had your strength during the day,

and nobody knew that during the night

the cloak would grow into a monster

to haunt you down the nightmares

finally, the wind changed

and the cloak was blown forward

and it was long, so long,

it outgrew your height,

it outgrew your shadow,

and your name,

even your legacy,

and you realized that finally

it was not you carrying the future,

instead, it carried you all along.