The Game – A Poem About the Cycle of Life, Choice & the Illusion of Control
- Leon Gregori
- Sep 20, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
This poem forms part of my Out of the Shadows collection. It was written before I met Jenn and is shaped by searching, heartbreak, identity, and survival. The Game is a reflective piece from Chapter 6, Reborn.
It explores the cyclical nature of modern life—eat, work, sleep, repeat—and how this relentless rhythm has shaped our humanity.
Written after a long, exhausting day at work, it’s a poem born from the question many of us ask: 'Why am I doing this every day?'
"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." -Confucius
For me, The Game is about questioning the systems we’ve built around us.
It challenges the pursuit of material success at the expense of our souls and asks whether we’re truly living—or just playing along.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Game
This life
Our affliction
Inhale it like addiction
Our distinction
Our reason
It sets us all apart
Different seasons
Lands and kingdoms
Association
Relations
Loyalty
Respect
It pulls us all apart
Strangers rule us
Whilst money blinds us
Beats us down
Controlled all around
Lifeless
Soulless
Conscience not making a sound
Love defines us
Our spirit and our souls
Our bodies and our minds
Benefit in kind
But our desires stretch us
Can drive us crazy
People like dominoes
Our hearts doing the rounds
We are superstitious
Suspicious
Ridiculous
At times
It's fictitious
We are fortuitous
To make it through at times
Honesty
Reminds us
Of how we show and tell
And it's torturous
Tumultuous
Binds us under its spell
And just like a bell
It jars us
Disciplines us right
Because try as we might
Our only fight
Is hindsight
That's right
All we get is hindsight
It's not right
But it's how we learn
Because honesty and loyalty
Only gets us burned
So as we turn
It becomes our blindside
We learn to ignore
And on it goes on
This world we create
We're regardless
We are relentless
Our pursuit of happiness
Remorseless
So release the stress
Put to the test
The desire to achieve
Soulfulness
The dream
Less the mess
No need to impress
Happiness
The extreme
But the reality
Is meaningless
Mostly nothingness
Emptiness
Loneliness
It cuts deep inside
So in our pursuit
In this desperate race
We step on others
Just to save face
We try to deny it
With rigour and valour
But truth be told
We know our true colors
What will we do
What we will hide
How desperate we are
To jump from this ride
Complex souls
We each are
Our morals and ethics
So so afar
We try to hide it
We try to agree
But we all know that
We all can't see
So somewhere out there
Something must be
Must have a plan
For all and me
This life
Our affliction
This addiction
It holds us
We live for each day
No matter what
We might say
We still get up
Ready to play
This game
And we do
Each one of you
It's our reason
Distinction
It sets us all apart
So no rhyme
And no reason
We are who we are
We humans are a legion
An army
Of war
Drowning in our sorrows
Living in the burrows
Sinking
And sinning
But living for tomorrow
© Leon Gregori 2026
Do you ever feel trapped by the cycle of modern life? What do you think it takes to break free and live with more purpose?
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
⪢ Explore the Out of the Shadows collection
Read more poems from an earlier era of writing shaped by searching, heartbreak, identity, and survival.
See More From Leon...
Conscience
Explore the inner workings of the conscience. Delve into the balance between morality, instinct, and self-awareness captured through poetry.
About Leon Gregori
I've been writing poetry since my mid-teens and find it natural to express myself through words. My long-form content focuses on themes of heartbreak and life.
Comments