A Will to Live

There are no words, only a thousand thoughts
the lingering ghosts of unexpressed memories and possibilities
hanging in the air like some hot paranoia or mad fever.
only a thousand captive feelings,
ribs containing that swelling tide
which threatens to overtake the shore,
flood land, and overwhelm with terrible force.
to consume.

Only these unasked questions,
at least a thousand murmured prayers
kept under breath in upright chairs with straight backs
itching in our uncomfortable skins.
Awaiting the tipping point, or the rocking boat
the fork in the road, the epiphany.
Some kind of turn or great revelatory shift in direction.
Perhaps a single moment of simple relief,
as a cool breeze or a heavy sigh.
A loud crash! where all comes caving in
Just something. Absolutely anything.

Everyone offers a droning answer,
rendering no real solution.
And they, with all their wisdom,
the great 'Them' that know so much
force a cold crown of hard reason
to rest heavy on a weary man's head
rendering little hope, that sweet currency of the soul
the bread of life from which man so deeply feeds.

Stay hungry, oh man! Crave life, oh soul!
Do not let these false truths fed you cause defeat.
do not let the walls before you weigh you down
look first to how far you've come, find your strength
unloose the impossible, compose your will to live
You are not a man to lie down and be buried alive.