The Achiever

I am an achiever.

I live for applause. 

I live for approval. 

The awards. 

The accolades.

The success that soothes my scars.

People pleaser pushing through the cut-throat pressure.

Expecting peace to arrive after the promotion. 

After providing the correct answer to all the problems. 

But I can only work to the bone for so long. 

A pregnant mother giving up halfway through labor.

The child dies inside of her.

A runner collapses a couple of yards before the finish line.

They never stand again. 

The adrenaline crashed, and exhaustion encumbered my efforts. 

A wilting flower burned to death 

under the spotlight that it used to blossom under. 

Unsustainable and unstable. 

I frantically pumped my heart and screamed air into my lungs. 

My value and worth is the blood streaming through my veins. 

Because I am an achiever. 

I live for applause. 

I live for approval. 

The awards. 

The accolades.

I live with my neck lined up against my own blade.