9 pm, tired and broken
My class just ended at the HPSB
My schedule’s simpler from way back when
Now I’m walking these halls like a guard-to-be
From the 10th floor, a long way down
Too tired to even move my feet
No students anywhere around
Wanting to beat the El Niño heat
Should I use the stairs or the elevator?
The scenic route or the enclosed space?
I chose the latter, for the hour grew later
There’s AC too, while sweat was dripping down my face
The AC is blowing from a single corner
I stood there, watching the floor numbers go by
It stopped at floor six, waiting like a mourner
Doors creaked open, the elevator lights have died
The cold air stopped too, but it lingered long
Outlasted the lights, in the middle of the heat
I stepped outside, moving like a mute song
Alone in the dark, my heart begins to beat
loudly and uncertainly, lifting my pace, no time to split
Going down the stairs, trying not to trip and fall
Panicking, swallowing a scream, then it hit
me, the stairway isn’t stopping at all
Up, down, left, and right
I don’t know which way I’m headed
Lost in the dark, treading these flights
of stairs, feeling nothing but dread
I’m tired, I just want to make it stop
These endless stairs keep on going
I want to lie in my bed, listening to pop
Can I see an end, a glint, or a bling?
Or maybe there’s no end to this
Mountains of duties and studies to do
Moving through college, my life’s an abyss
The light’s been extinguished in these four corners too
An endless climb
A downward spiral
Whichever direction, lost in time
Everything I do is just for survival
Illustrated by Remjan Ashley Claire Pimentel
