I.
I can feel you touch my heart.
The dread caress.
The squeezing vice.
It hurts my chest.
It hurts my lungs.
Pain like splinters in my eyes.
Mind fracturing in my head.
Will you grip me ’til I’m dead?
How is it that I am still alive?
II.
I build a routine just to survive.
Butt to seat
Comb to hair
Brush to teeth
But I know you’re there.
Icy, cold, distracting.
Crippling, grinning, laughing.
Breathing down my neck.
Bubbling up my belly.
The hand of Fear.
The face of Terror.
III.
Did you really think I would always succumb?
I’ve known you too long to fall for your con.
You can clutch my heart and make me afraid.
But you, dear friend, have a debt to be paid.
For all the lies you’ve whispered in my ear
For all the horror that wasn’t real.
“If I should die before I wake…”
Shall I tell you of your mistake?
My flesh may shudder; my bones may shake.
I may bend, but I will not break.
Shalanosa's Sanctuary 