Success Spoken Word Poems

Clock in, clock out
Wake, commute, work, sleep, repeat
They say I'm making a living
But where in this equation am I alive?

Traded my sunrise for spreadsheets
My sunset for status reports
My laughter for leader boards
My dreams for direct deposits

We're all running on this hamster wheel
Spinning faster just to stay in place
"Success" measured in square footage
And vacation days we're too exhausted to take

They sold us a promise:
Work hard now, live later
But later keeps getting pushed back
Like a horizon we never reach

When did we agree
That breathing means producing?
That existing means earning?
That value equals output?

My grandmother's hands knew real work
Soil under fingernails, calluses with purpose
She worked to live
I live to work

The system whispers:
"Just one more promotion"
"Just one more year"
"Just one more sacrifice"
While life slips through fingers
Clutching paychecks

Making a living
What a curious phrase
As if living itself
Is something manufactured
Something we must earn the right to do

I want to make a life instead
Rich with moments that don't fit on resumes
Abundant with connections no algorithm can track
Wealthy with experiences no bank can hold

Because making a living
Without actually living
Is the most expensive purchase
We never meant to make.
...

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We've built walls where bridges could be,
Painted skies with the dull gray of "should be"
Instead of the wild colors of "could be."

Look around you
What do...

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(DJ NO BODY MESSIN’/ leaning into the mic, dim spot light hits the face) Creative force/ That’s the hum/
 Eric 2BFREE, the tone poet, here...

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Snapping fingers, a low hum in the microphone)
 Hey, It's Café Jazz/ But we ain't just sipping black coffee and snapping our fingers in polite...

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As the sun rises high in the sky
we rise out of bed once we open our eyes.

I woke up feeling inspired, I pursue all
I desire....

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The infamous Borga Borga! Kings of self-deception, lords of make-believe, and emperors of "I've got it all together"!

They travel to far-off lands, where the streets...

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The infamous Borga Borga! Kings of self-deception, lords of make-believe, and emperors of "I've got it all together"!

They travel to far-off lands, where the streets...

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You can set the mindset and the tone of how your life will be. 
Yes, you can set the mindset with your thoughts and the...

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    Frantic movement and commotion
       Fist-pumping, foot-stomping emotion

    Slogans shouted, cheers abide
 ...

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Put your finger down 
If you  believed 
That Maandamano (Protests) would change the country 
Put your finger down 
If you were caught in the...

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In the dim-lit alley of the soul's bazaar,
Were jazz and jive spill from ajar,
We tap our feet, snap fingers, under stars,
And speak in verses, raw...

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Through the still small voice, God speaks to me;
Through horizon skies, God speaks to me;
From the face of a small voiced, child
God speaks to me;;

From...

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Every step feels like a hurricane or twister, and it’s not child’s play
I keep letting go of the notebook, guess it’s time to review the...

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A muffled sound
    that I knew not
  as it echoed
    across my lot

  It spoke in code
...

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I really gotta practice-- 
if I'm gonna pick up Spanish!
Using it a bit more everyday; 
well, that's my plan-ish...

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