60 seconds to go My heart is pumping a marathon Each beat a new threat to explode Hitting me like a dozen syringes Call the coroner Cause of Death: Adrenaline Overdose
45 seconds I practice every coming moment In my mind Every mistake hits me at once The imagination humiliation Acts just like a garrote My every breath is strained Lungs burning, full of embers White out the death certificate New cause of death: Suffocation
30 seconds My flight or fight goes haywire Yet I can do neither The walls start moving This room threatens to be my tomb It is too late to fight This demise is of my own accord I want to fly Yet my wings are clipped Retract the obit I fell to my doom
15 more I hear my doom approaching It calls to me Every syllable shocks my system A jolt to remind me that I'm going to fail I shudder with every word I close my eyes, pray Count the seconds until doomsday Cause of death: Fear
10 seconds I take a breath 9 It stays 8 I stand up to face the onslaught 7 I walk toward doom 6 My breath fights its way out Only 5 Climbing fear turns to steady panic 4 more Another heart attack hits 3 Another breath 2 Out 1 I step forward
The lights hit The fear vanishes I am no longer dead Alive The crowd before me resuscitates me Every line I dropped in my head Landed with precise expertise Each cue struck Every scene played to perfection Cancel the death notice On this stage I am revived