I took another job because tomorrow

was waiting with a school bill in its hands.

Twelve hours became a road I had to walk,

even when my body begged for somewhere

to sit down and breathe.

The warehouse was a frozen cathedral,

its silence broken by footsteps and machines.

My feet remained cold for almost the entire shift,

each ache climbing slowly into my muscles

like winter learning my name.

There were hours when time seemed cruel,

the clock moving like it had forgotten mercy.

I stood where I had to stand,

worked where I had to work,

because education was waiting on the other side.

My muscles carried the evidence home,

a quiet language of pain in my shoulders and legs.

Sleep became less like rest

and more like a temporary surrender

before another day began.

There were moments I wanted to disappear,

to become smaller than the pain,

but discipline whispered, keep going,

sacrifice has no applause

when the dream is still far away.

So I worked until exhaustion became familiar,

until tiredness stopped frightening me.

I learned that resilience is not always loud,

sometimes it is simply showing up again

when yesterday has already taken so much.

About the poet:

Olatinwo Yushau is a compassionate, deeply intuitive poet, performer, and author whose creative practice centers on survival, resilience, and the human evolution through adversity. He is the author of the poetry collection Broken Roads Still Lead Forward, a profound literary study mapping how systemic or personal brokenness acts as a vehicle toward personal growth. His written and performance work has been widely featured and reviewed across prominent platforms, including the Tribune Daily Newspaper, Upwrite Magazine, and Poetreel.com.

An evocative stage presence, Olatinwo has performed extensively on poetry stages and literary festivals throughout London and Bristol. Backed by an MSc in Project Management and an extensive professional background in complex mental health care and crisis de-escalation, he uniquely leverages structured organizational logic, profound emotional intelligence, and trauma-info