Author: DyrneKeeper

Characters: Ensemble

Category: General

Rating: YTeen

Summary: Ever wondered why? A philosophical ramble into the everyday struggle of politics.

Author's Notes: I didn't have any specific characters in mind when I wrote this, and still don't; it can be a dialogue between two characters, an inner monologue, or even a conversation between several people; read it as you will.

Why does it get harder?

Because it's a marathon. But it's not one marathon, it's eight, and they're all uphill and every one gets rockier than the last. And you're on your own. You can't reach out to someone or else you both get dragged down. Every time you lose, it breaks your heart a little. You fall down, you cut you knees, but you get right back up and keep running. Sometimes you carry the torch, but most of the time all you've got is bloody knees and a broken heart, and a thousand miles left to run.

I thought it would get easier, the losing. I thought I'd get used to it. I didn't think it would always hurt this much.

It's not our victory. We don't fight for us. We have jobs, we have food, we have families. We're fighting for the people who can't fight because they're working for their jobs and loves and families. And every fight we lose, we've lost for them. When it stops hurting, when the wall you try to put up stays there, that's when you've stopped being human.

It's an adrenaline sport. At first you just run: you ignore the pain, you ignore the exhaustion, you can still get yourself out of bed every morning. But then you just keep fighting, and fighting, and the adrenaline is gone, and you're left exhausted and drained.

Do we ever stop fighting?

No. We fight to get here. Then we fight to do all the things we fought to get here to do. Day after day, week after week, year after year. And then you fight to stay here.

What happens when it's over?

Another person. Another battle. And always, another fight,

It never ends.

Would you want it to?