Gulf

in the middle of all of this
simmering chaos
the conflict that tastes like sweet
saccharine poison
added to make life more palatable
and to kill you off faster
like acid rain stripping the
leaves off your soul and tearing the cellular
structure apart in your heart
and you're starving to keep from ingesting
the toxins around you that keep you alive there is
solace

life

wound around you, the trappings
live mummification
blood drained and brains pulled out
leaving you empty, preserved in a shell
exoskeletal uniform
we're all the same underneath on the outside
fighting the arms that reach
claw hands are grabbing, the voices are screaming

shut up

and the river will swallow you whole
spit you out in the rapids, demolish your wretched and sorrowful face
and the tide in the ocean will rock you to sleep
till your feet hit the shore
and you wake like a nightmare come ripping your tongue out
the silence
the waiting
alone.