Submerge

I slowly walked towards the bank,

my small feet were bare and bruised.

Against the thick snow, they sank

deeper than the shoes I refused.

*

The vast lake was quiet and still

as I slowly dipped my toes in

the black icy water until

cold had settled on my skin.

*

The heat in my body was gone,

my wounds started to numb

submitted to the raw sensation,

and now I began to succumb.

*

I spread my arms and laid down

as the biting cold wrapped around me

my eyes closed, prepared to drown,

finally, the pain had set me free.