I was living in alternate
worlds, bruised, confused,
brutal beats clashing against
one another as I tried to cover
my ears to block out the chilled
rhythms reverberating in slated
nations, salt-blazed alliteration,
scarlet-smoked mazes, asphalt
alleyways, rain spattering upon
my face while I cried in the
moonlight.  And I could feel
the endless fights and threats
breaking me down piece by piece,
the days when I just wanted
to die, stab myself in the heart
and feel a slow, painful death,
bringing my body to a freezing
point – a raging shot, a falling
bomb, shotgunned, unsound.