too old and much too frail

for taking on another chore

a fragile looking snail

pushes through slopes

to carry its load

of minimal hopes

 

despite the many sins

picked up each day

during a most tormented journey

through the ups and downs

of ordinary life 

its feeble back will never yield

nor will its spirit sink

into the darkness

 

the snail just presses on

and on and on

 

its given task

its fatal fate

it is alive today

and still the same

as yesterday and ever

 

its fate

is to endure

against all hopes and wants

 

its fate

is still

a self imposed determination

to carry to the very end

its faded house of dreams

 

— Petra Vlah