Obligated
Obligation, like time,
is a duty disguised.
We carry what is not ours—
out of love,
or worse,
to keep the peace.
Only later to realize
those are the same thing.
Family roles.
Gender norms.
Beauty standards.
Levels of desire.
Personal boundaries.
We wear them like inheritance,
like anchors.
We write to ourselves
about the weight it takes to stay
when leaving would save us,
and congratulate ourselves
on the sacrifice.
The body, obligated to breathe,
underwater.
Don't feel #obligated to read this. #Emoetry
#writingcommunity #poetry
@fafo-poets-society.bsky.social
@mwplovesmusic.bsky.social