I was walking through fields of flowers.

On rolling hills.

Birds in the air.

I almost forgot who I was.

Then I looked down.

I saw the heavy brown boots encasing my feet.

Suffocating their desire for freedom.

Erasing all hopes of feeling the world beneath them.

All around me duplicate, thick shoes crush the life that greets them from the dirt.

Most don't take notice.

Some take pleasure in destruction, making their mark.

Now I remember.

We are the few. The proud. the undiversified.

I can't tell the brown faces apart beneath the greasy masks and the uniform doesn't help.

We all look the same, to ourselves, to each other.

The dull red light illuminates the path before me, taking the place of the moon.

The brilliant orb slips out of the sky feeling unnecessary, unwanted.

The brim of my hat blocks my only view of the starry night sky.

So I trudge on.

I just have to finish.

then I can can feel the world again.