Duty in Our Time
There was a time when duty needed no explanation.
It held the world together.
Now we flinch at the word.
It sounds like iron.
We prefer comfort, freedom, self-expression.
We are born owing existence itself.
We inherit peace at someone else’s price.
Duty is rising when no one thanks you.
Speaking when silence is safer.
Guarding what cannot guard itself.
It doesn’t feel good.
It doesn’t pay.
That’s the point.
Happiness is a byproduct.
Duty is a direction.
Do what is right.
If no one sees,
keep going.
You’re the one holding the world up.