Systemic Strain Part II
Proof that survival is an art outline,
And you paint it daily with any scraps
They embark you.
They monitor your struggles without seen
In the prototype of the broken appliances
Behind it.
The group blame the person
Instead of the patterns.
They call it "Personal "
Responsibility ".
When it's genuinely Systemic Sabatoge.
But you-
You trudge with a spine that recalls everytime
You bent and still didn't quit.
You speak with a voice that carries the
Parroting of every barrier lifted.
And you say it plain, loud enough for the
Block to hear:
This tautness ain't mine
This fault ain't mine
This fight was allotted to me by a system
That never cultivated how to hold its own
Bulk.
I'm not the Crack.
I'm the pressure point.
I'm the vocal cords that named the real culprit
And to carry it's shame declines.
Systemic Strain, Not Personal Fault
"The walk for help- " I walked miles with
Nothing but courage in my pockets, hoping
The doors ahead still cared ".
" A bank shut its doors on my survival, and
The pavement became my only witness". After
A bank shut its doors on my tomorrow ".
"Need pressed against my ribs while someone
Behind a counter constrained against my dignity ."
I stepped into a room built for mercy, but the air was
Heavy with judgements, eyes measuring my worth
Like I owed them proof of why hunger had followed me in.
They keep telling you
"Hold it together "
Like you ain't already patching cracks
In a world built crooked
You juggle bills,
Appointments,
System that glitch like busted streetlights,
And they still ask
Why you walk like the weight got hands
Around your larynx.
But listen-
This ain't your flaw
This is pressure cooked in premises
You never stepped in,
Policies you never voted for, rules penned
By people who never had to stretch a dollar
Til it yelped.
You ain't the problem.
You're the evidence.
Was it my fault? My fault that the wolf was stalking me as prey, walking my way, behind me?
My fault so much that I was fined?
As if what I was wearing signed ME, for this pain, for this rage barely contained?
"What were you wearing?" They ask, but does that matter?
The wrapper doesn't matter to the predator as long as they get to capture the prey, the food, soothing their moods.
So was it really my fault for the crime that occurred?
or because you'd rather blame the prey for the monster's mistake?
for the crime scene on the streets?
for the people talking while the wolf hides behind trees, waiting for his next prey.
A rather daring young plumber
Worked in the nude one hot summer.
An old lady complained
And so he was arraigned
Which was a bit of a bummer
You’re autistic, you say?
Well that’s on you.
You chose medication,
Rather than meditation,
Take some accountability!
You don’t like wearing jeans?
Well don’t just blame your genes!
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?
More like Attention-Desperate Human-Disease.
Don’t get upset,
I’m just trying to help you!
You might not know as much as me,
But that’s okay!
Anyway,
Have you tried drinking water?
he stopped to think about his life
when he was stranded on the desert island
was his wife-to-be someone he could be proud of?
Why had he chosen her?
She never put him first
many times, she put him last.
He thinks about her children
They ridicule him
Possibly learned this behavior from their mother
The wedding is to be in four weeks
why has it taken him so long to figure this out?
who asked whom to marry anyway?
He sits in silence, listening to the ocean lap quietly against the rocks.
Had he ever intended to marry her?
It’s the man’s job to ask, isn’t it?
How did he get roped into this situation?
Is it his mother’s fault? She is an aggressive female
Like his fiancé
Will he speak up or be lead around by another woman?
One who is as pushy and caustic as his mother?
He waves the boat on when it comes to pick him up.
my friends know i don’t mean when i wave it off and say that i’m just tired
it’s not like i got any sleep, but that’s not the reason i’ve been bitter
they always knew me to be sweeter
it’s been almost four weeks since you last called,
at 9:47, i even memorized the time
do you remember it the same way that i do?
does your mind keep replaying it for you too?
it stings because i know that i could never picture anything past you and i
not like i even bothered trying,
i didn’t, that’s why i’m barely getting past this
do you remember me like i do you?
do you cry before going to bed too?
feels like i’m talking to a stranger, but i memorized your flavor
i know you cry with movies and babysit for your neighbor
do you tell her that you love her voice?
does she believe you like i did three weeks ago?
my friends know that you’re the reason why i’m tired, you keep me up all night,
you consume me without even trying
how is it possible that you could just survive me?
instead of sleeping i toss and turn at night and my friends have started thinking it’s your fault
yeah, they know that i’ve been bitter
they always thought that i was sweeter
only the people
who do things are criticized
you can count on it
to linger not in fault or blame
will let light penetrate
for else we may be lost to shame
trapped in that we create
no salve can treat what ails
when transfixed on details
gather purpose not tales
let land like thunderbolt
~ to linger not in fault ~
I don’t know how but it is my fault
I understand
I too would hate a child that looks exactly like her father
Her face engraved every heartbreak I tried to bury deep for safe keeping
Her resemblance bearing the broken promises I suffered at the hands of a man who had no plans of staying in my life for too long
He just came in for dinner and left shortly after
Leaving you to bear the consequences of falling blindly in love
All you are left with is a living, breathing, walking sign “I was here”
It is my fault
I don’t know how but it is my fault
I understand
I too would hate a child that looks exactly like her father
My presence is like having all your bad decisions thrown in your face
Like you, I am also a victim of the same man
I am being punished for the sins of my deadbeat father
He sure was a charmer
Keeping all the letters I wrote to him as a child in box
Maybe if I keep them long enough I would be able grow a man out of words scribbled
Maybe I would birth a perfect father out of pen and paper
So mom you see, you are not the only one burning with anger caused by him
It is not my faut after all
For I too am a victim of his lies
Well you call it what you want
'cause you can’t call it what it is.
As the hounds wait at the gate
for you to come and let them in.
Is not love without it's proper name,
a crime that is committed free of sin?
If it is wise to fault the poet
your tongue is sharp, your words obscene.
If I am tainted in your eyes
know I was once a centerpiece.
Should you hold in your apprehension
I will not ask if I am free.
The gentle beauty of your blooms
are delicate and exquisite to the touch ~
your history's fraught with wrongdoing
but through ne'er fault of your own
AP: Honorable Mention 2026, Honorable Mention 2026
I failed the relationship?by being myself too accurately.
There was nothing dramatic about it.?No betrayal.?No fight worth remembering.?Just the slow discovery?that I was a compromise.
You didn’t leave suddenly.?You adjusted.?That was worse.
I watched you subtract effort?the way someone stops watering?a plant they’ve already replaced.
Same sex, same bed,?and still I felt like?the wrong answer?arriving confidently.
I needed more than you could give?because I had less than I pretended.
I asked questions?that only insecure people ask.?I noticed things?secure people ignore.
That was the problem.
I made my doubt your responsibility.?I turned love into maintenance.?I required proof.
Eventually you realized?being with me?felt like work?that never ended.
You didn’t say I wasn’t enough.?You didn’t have to.
The silence was efficient.
I understand now:?relationships don’t fail loudly?when the flaw is fundamental.
They just stop trying.
And if I’m honest—?this wasn’t about timing,?or compatibility,?or even love.
It was about me arriving?already behind,?and asking you?to slow down?so I could pretend?we were equal.
Wild hands
Touch wonder
The Earth shook
I heard thunder
...fault line
Angry words
Whipped about
Lashed at silence
I heard a shout
...fault line
Salty residue
Throat sensation
Music halted
Willing participation
...fault line
Personalities surface
Crazy run a muck
Responsibility dodged
Just passing the buck
...fault line
Working it out
Healing the fracture
Knocking down beams
To restore the structure
...earthquake
It's over
Leveled, scared
No one to tell
About all my affairs
...demolished
Stay away
Don't come near
The TRUTH
Is what you fear
...the New Earth is here
Written by Trudy Schrader on 01-18-2026
They follow you into the dark,
Into the depths of valley’s and
Shallows of forests.
Till they find you alone,
And tear you apart, despite your desperate moans.
They stay there till there is nothing left.
Till every bone is broken and bent and
All your cries and pleas are spent.
And somehow, it’s never their fault.
It’s always you, your clothes or your body.
Your mere existence is a crime
And you are made of pay for it,
As if your body had no rights,
You are born to satisfy their desires,
To tame their insatiable fire,
To be their slave till your heart appeals.
It’s not their fault.
It’s yours.
You are born for it,
Now you bear with it.
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.