Trapped

A stray thought knocks,

then nags,

playing freeze tag among

synapses.

Begging please.

No.

Not this.

Not now.

But as the walls close in,

breath grows thin

and becomes a limited commodity.

Lungs lock and capsize,

the key trapped inside,

swallowed by an irrational fear

that can’t be denied.

Heart races, then trips,

unable to keep pace

with the need to survive.

Get a grip--stay alive--

except there’s nothing

to hold on to.

No hope to get you through.

Nothing but a

dark, bleak chasm

that stretches and yawns

into infinity--

a mental maze of madness

with no way out.

And as you scream

and shake

and pray for release,

you face the unrelenting truth:

This never ends.

Not until the moment

your life really does cease.