Our Nuts In A Vice

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We try to be kind, we strive to be just,
We ache for approval, for praise we can trust.
We fear being selfish, or lazy, or wrong,
So we bite back our truth and just go along.

We’re stuck in the grip of the need to be right,
Trading our joy to think we’re a knight.
Addicted to “good,” we pay a high price—
Living our lives with our nuts in a vice.

 

"You should give more," "Be proud, but look meek,"
We echo these lines for week after week.
We say, “I promise,” “I owe,” or “I should,”
Avoiding the fear of not looking good.

 

We don’t set boundaries, we don’t speak no,
We smile through the pain and go with their flow.
We serve and we suffer, we play the best part—
All to be seen as a person with heart.

 

Two nations will fight, two lovers will break,
Each gripping a story for righteousness’ sake.
A parent, a partner, a friend, or a peer—
All driven by judgment and feeling sincere.

We’re stuck in the grip of the need to be right,
Trading our joy to think we’re a knight.
Addicted to “good,” we pay a high price—
Living our lives with our nuts in a vice.

 

But past all the “shoulds,” past “better” and “worse,”
There’s peace in a place no longer rehearsed.
Beyond wrong and right, where you never defend—
There’s a field, there’s freedom, and you never pretend.