My breath catches
In trepidation,
Tightness forming
In my chest
Does anxiety buckle
For fear
Or because
I’ve never felt love
So sincere

All the hijacker does is scream
And it is enough.
Blisters burn the brain until
A rancid tinnitus
Washes through my canyons, flooding everything
Total destruction
A later me may find small shells
Evidence that at some point
I lived
I fought
I existed
But for now, I go the way of the dinosaurs

You scribble, frantic
Your pen, a fragment of the ship
Torn from the wreck
Floating for survival
Clinging to escape the
Angry Seas
Burning Cold
Stinging Salt
Your hand furiously slides
'Cross the page, venting your
Pain
and
Rage
Squeeze those eyes shut
And pray to the gods
For land
For a reprieve

Should I stay or go?
What I want and need aren't clear
Someone help me please

Creeping guilt
Haunting shame
Liquid burn
Checking out now
When my mind won't slow
Distilled rye
Filling the gray canyons, the crevices
Pulsing, swimming fire
Hopes that this poison
This pleasure
Will scorch
And end
This madness

She twists my name
In a welcome greeting
The lilt, a pleasant change
To an oft' heard word
And when my thoughts
Boil and steam my being
That crooked name
She calls out
And reels me back to sanity

Little by little
I will reclaim all the songs
That bring you to mind