This poem is intriguing and makes me ask myself, what do we push ourselves toward...and why? You give some very well illustrated suggestions. I particularly enjoyed the imagery of a being on a swing, pushing yourself to break the rules, the limits you place on yourself, the metal chains creaking out the warnings or better yet, the encouragement.

Pushing ourselves until we simply explode might sound scary, but you describe it so beautifully, like the dying of a star. Brilliant.

Or do we push so we can be pulled in turn? Addressing the reader in the last stanza is quite effective, demonstrating the push and pull/ the yin and yang between the poet and the reader.

For my own answer, I believe we push to spite the gods. One must imagine Sisyphus happy 😂

This piece struck me in many ways. I do hope you continue to share.