I walk upstairs for coffee every morning
Just before work
What I do for a living kills a little part of me
But to survive and thrive I set my face in stone
And press forward
My face hardens as I wear the stone daily
First my hands hardened
Then my mind hardened
And whenever I wore my stone face home
My heart hardened a little bit
I tell myself in the mirror it won't happen to me again
and the television spouts canned laughter