it won’t be long now (revised)

i can’t sleep

i just shiver underneath thin sheets

my eyes closed in an attempt to

defeat the darkness surrounding me

i try desperately to breathe

but a bitter hand is choking me

i can’t see

but i know the ghosts are taunting me

my demons deepen all my wounds

manipulate my brain

as i strain to find a place

where i know i can be okay

but i am inundated with an invitation for an imitation

of the dawn

an exaggeration of a flame

a neon blaze to

simulate salvation

they tell me

every word i ever uttered

will swiftly be undone

as long as i pledge allegiance

to the master of the dusk

i fall into the abyss

darkness seeps into my skin

i’ve given up this fight

so i let oblivion win

a fire incinerates my emaciated frame

demons i tried to escape

are grinning as they leer at my waste

of a life

i grimace softly as they jeer in my face

i try to run away but my feet burn on the coals ablaze

while the demons wrap their cracked palms around my skeleton waist

i scream

but it is an empty breath

because my mouth is filled with death

i realize

i am nothing but a hole to hold

a thousand shards of pain

suddenly i jolt awake

and glimpse a familiar face

my heart starts and i am filled with

something i can’t quite place

i hear a hidden whisper say

what you feel is grace