Relentless drudgery

The sprint is futile there is no end

Only exhaustion to keep you company

In the midnight hour sleep is awoken

Rest cannot lay on a heavy chest

Lines trace out the picture

A dark figure appears

Rips back the sheets

Work cannot wait

The weary must work on

Without pay they are hidden away

Relentless is the need of greed

And the crumbs reduce to none 

-Camille Delaquise

This poem appears in RISE, Camille’s second contemporary poetry collection. Relentless drudgery reflects on labour as a site of depletion under greed — revealing how exhaustion, invisibility and unpaid effort are woven into systems that demand endless work while withholding dignity and rest.

This poem is available as a contemporary poetry print on textured recycled card.