The ocean is swallowing you whole
It is cold
So cold
Your arms flail in vain for the surface
But your numb legs have stopped functioning
And the fish are deaf to the fear in your eyes

You wish you could follow the bubbles
As they ascend to the patch of light overhead
But the only thing your flooded lungs can do
Is sink
It is a terrifying moment when you cannot even scream

Darkness closes in
Though you can no longer tell
If it is the depth of the sea
Or your dying mind
You
Cannot
Think
Anymo...

The human body is 70% H20
But as you sink down into this watery cradle
You are reminded once again
That even too much of a good thing
Can ultimately be fatal

You are on fire
Or you might as well be
Flames lick at your too-thin clothing
The heat more intense than anything you've ever known
And your panic is nothing compared to the sheer pain

All you know is coughing, coughing
Choking on filthy smog
Inhaling poison
Gasping to find an ounce of oxygen
Feeling as if you lungs are about to rip themselves open

And all the while
The wooden structure crashes down
Closing in on your trembling frame
As you watch helplessly
Your vision consumed by blazing scarlet

You are staring into the face of the sun
But this fire brings the opposite of life
Ashes to ashes...
It seems your cremation has already begun.

The wide-eyed owl
Is unique in his wisdom
For he learns everything
By listening
And always asking
Whoo?

While the parrots
Brightly colored
But dull-witted
Simply echo the voices around them
Never questioning
The phrases they repeat

The miniature wooden birds
Trapped in their tower
Also cry out
To signal their release
And the top of the hour
Reminding us over and over again
That our obsession with the passing time
Is just a little bit
Cuckoo

The delicate nightingale
In turn
Sings its beautiful melody
A tune so haunting and mysterious
It can move you to tears
Without ever telling you what it means

The birds are talking
But
In the words of the canaries
Talk
Is
*Cheep

Exhaustion is heavy
Numb indifference even more so
My eyes are dull
And their gaze cast down
To something even deeper than the soil
Arms leaden, knees trembling
Thoughts cycling, cycling, endlessly

And for what?
What is the purpose of this weariness?

Just take a look at the window
And you'll remember
The world waits to greet you as soon as you walk out

The blazing sun smiles with warmth
While the silky moon soothes the ache in your bones
Hot desert winds drag sand around for miles
As cascading waterfalls crash onto granite stones
Hollow-***** birds soar beyond the heavens
Thousands of feet above immense sea creatures
That crawl below the shimmering ocean surface

No matter how dead you feel
The world is alive around you

So when the only thing on your mind is a resounding, "Why?"
The snow capped mountains
The palm studded beaches
The wheat speckled fields
And the storm plagued jungles
Echo back their reply:
"Just because."

Fake applause
Smiles from strangers
Insincere congratulations

Take that away and I am nobody
All that’s left are white papers
Each claiming I have accomplished something

He's beautiful

But I am terrified
Because I fear that I may be in love with who he could be
Rather than who he really is

18 years
216 months
6568 days
157632 hours

And in all that time
I have been alive
But I never lived