Better Life

fiction
poetry

I was promised a better life

If I did what they told me
If I wore the right clothes
If I sang the right songs
If I said the right things

I was promised a better life

If I followed their rules
If I looked the other way
If I settled for less
If I kept my mouth shut

I was promised a better life

If I didn't ask questions
If I didn't want more
If I trusted what they said
If I shut out the world

I was promised a better life

It was easy
It was simple
It was promised
I just had to die.