Why I’m Still Here

It wasn't because I knew

that things would get better.

It wasn't because I thought

that anyone would need me,

much less, miss me.

But it was because I 

had something to prove,

things to do.

I knew death would come soon enough,

why beckon it towards me?

Temptation leads me away,

to nightmares I am yet to escape.

I hear pleas for mercy,

ringing in my head.

Thoughts that I fight every day.

Still, no one understands

the wars I have fought

and the scars they have caused.

Reality throws stones at me,

but I still stand.

The will to live

has pulled me through.

But how far, I wonder,

until even that fails?