Jumping through hoops to please some unseen watcher

Who holds the keys to stability, dangling them before my nose

As I frenetically attempt to clear every obstacle

Placed in my path without stumbling in the process

Or as I wait patiently as yet one more set of challenges

Are lined up for my betterment and safe-keeping

Even when I run the course in record time

I wait upon the unimpressed administrators who set the clock

Speeding up and then slowing down the process with arbitrary freedom

Ensuring that we know I am never in control of my own fate

Neil White, 2013

This emerges out of the process of closing on a house (still ongoing) which has at times felt like a circus and has definitely left me feeling out of control and dependent upon others. I’m sure the words can also point to broader realities but it emerges out of a specific one.