How I greet my day: 

 

Not with a smile spread across my lips

Or an energetic laugh

Making my two friends holler with joy

As I spill out a witty remark.

 

But rather

With downcast eyes

Glaring at the shadowed pavement

Hoodie dangling from my shoulder

Stack of binders desperately trying to slip from my grip. 

 

The moon begins to make its descend

Behind the towering bus stop

Teenagers huddled around each other

Whispering into the muggy dawn. 

 

My brain fuddling with sleep deprivation –

I was always exhausted

Nothing satisfied my body

Not the ambitions

Pumping in my veins –

 

Strolling down the bustling streets

Of the city that never sleeps

Hungry for a perplexing tale to tell

For the citizens of New York City to yell.  

 

This routine of waiting

For a dream so far out of my reach

Is monotonous.

A cycle I can't quit

Even if I was granted the choice.