Perfect Performance

Perfect Performance

Flourishing in crested waves,
silken salt licked skin.
While leaden feet drag broken corals,
seeding disappointment hidden within

The faces of every crisis—
sensations slowly fading,
overwhelming my emotions,
lost in bodies of deterioration.

Born to break ribbons,
collecting shining brass.
My choices, my fantasies
grasp at air, at emptiness,

World rushing above my head,
ending in dirt and night,
grit between my broken teeth.
Inhalation, my only light,
fueling a fragile fight.

I get back up,
alone,
even where the lowest bar hides.
I try.
Resignation, the poor cousin of acceptance, I pray
in the silent night for an end.

Sunshine bursts each morning.
I rise with it and smile.
Even the broken want a life
There is so much still left to do.