The weight of someone else's expectations

A coat draped heavy across my back,

its fabric a whisper of dreams I lack.

Threads woven tight with another’s hopes,

a burden I carry, a noose of ropes.

You handed it over, a gesture so small,

but it wrapped around me, grew tight, made me small.

Every glance, a needle, pricking my skin,

reminders of all the places I’ve been.

Sleeves cling like doubts, too short, too long,

a constant reminder of where I went wrong.

Each sigh weighs down like a stone on my chest,

with every expectation, I struggle, I rest.