1Earthling

The paper moved a little higher.
Now another form to fill in.
One more process to complete,
just to reach the work ahead.

Most just followed the path,
like people so often do.
Nobody talked about it much.
Was just what you had to do.

What once opened doors
now needed something more.
People climbed from year to year,
thinking something waited there.

The line kept moving quietly,
one more step above the last.
Things changing beneath them,
as life just carried on.

School had seemed behind them,
but another step appeared.
TAFE rooms and training blocks,
forms signed off one by one.

Some drove there after work,
evening classes down the road.
Notes beside the takeaway,
two nights carved out each week.

What once opened doors
now needed something more.
People climbed from year to year,
thinking something waited there.

The line kept moving quietly,
one more step above the last.
Things changing beneath them,
as life just carried on.

Spreadsheets replaced calculators.
The Walkman was all the rage.
One-line screens on keyboards.
Now words moved before the page.

Folders slowly turned to systems.
Workplaces began to shift.
Nobody could see completely
where the changes would lead.

What once opened doors
now needed something more.
People climbed from year to year,
thinking something waited there.

The line kept moving quietly,
one more step above the last.
Things changing beneath them,
as life just carried on.