Marionette Strings

As I lay in my trunk that is tucked in the corner of the room

My lifeless body waiting for the moment that I get to perform again

For now, I lay “sleeping” with visions of the future in my head

Today is the day

I am woken by the sound of the trunk lid opening

Finally, my time to shine

My puppeteer leans over and picks me up into their hands

Their eyes look over my body

I can feel a wardrobe change is in order

Out with the old,

On with the new,

A fresh look to impress the audience today

Oh, how I cannot wait to perform for them

My puppeteer takes me into the other room to help me,

I can never seem to remember my lines

So, they help me rehearse

Looking sharp with my new clothes

I feel like a million dollars,

Even though inside I know I am not worth that much

As my puppeteer moves my strings I dance through the air,

Reciting my lines to prepare for the big show

I can see my reflection in a mirror

How amazing I look

Practice goes extremely well, and I feel as though I have made my puppeteer happy

The first show of the day is here,

My time to shine

All the rehearsing, wardrobe changes, time spent has come to this

I finally get to show the world who I am

The stage is set,

My puppeteer grabs my strings and prepares to guide me through the show

Our first stage is home,

Waking up and getting ready for the day ahead

Not forgetting to brush my teeth,

Small circles,

Repeat,

Put in that work for the shining smile

Change out of the comfortable clothes

Put on the standard work outfit,

Polo, jeans, shoes

Grab my coffee

Head out the door into my car,

Time to drive to work

Arriving at work,

I feel off,

Like something isn’t right today

My puppeteer keeps the story moving,

Headed to my desk to start the day

Begin pounding on the keyboard,

500 emails to go through,

Going to be a long day

But,

It still feels different

Everything goes as expected through my day

Time to head home

Our final scene,

I have a wardrobe change into some comfortable clothes

So, I can kick back,

Relaxation is key

Still cannot shake the feeling I had earlier,

It is eating at my stomach and head

My puppeteer has something up their sleeve

As I sit to try and understand what I am feeling,

I notice there is someone else holding my strings,

What happened to my puppeteer?

This is not the right person,

Who has been driving my decisions?

This explains my uneasy feeling,

I never knew that I would be influenced in such a way,

My strings have taken me outside,

Being shown where to go,

Even though I am not willing,

I cannot resist…

I feel stuck,

As I glance into the setting sun,

I realized that today was my last day,

My show had come to end

It was a great run,

But my new puppeteer has no need for me,

They have a new automated robot

I have been replaced,

Into the trunk for me, I will never see the light of day for a long time…