Chain Gang

Step inside
our human contradiction

Wrap your arms around
the paradox of us all

A core inconsistency
of this flawed humanity

Deep down
we yearn to be free

Showcase our individuality
on the grand stage
and yet
we're born to conform

First we get assigned to a family
through no choice of our own

Wrapped inside a community
where we invariably get pigeon holed

Play dates
Class mates

Social commitments
Chained to a tribe
Slipped into our slots
Gender role insertion 

Economic vice applied

Work... family... friends

Learn to juggle those many roles
til all the parts we play blur 

Somewhere along the way
our true identity gets suppressed

The years compress
Memories stored and disposed

The circle contracts
Life slows to a crawl
Time extracts it's price

We look back
and realize too late
we have been played

The paradox becomes clear
as the last act draws near 

Only in death
do we finally achieve
the freedom denied by life