Paper thin nerves
Have frayed within my skull
As confidence depreciates
My body writhes and dwindles

Whatever I can salvage
Is an honest and worthwhile treasure
A revered entity I must uphold
Through the scourge of pain
The festering mantra of peril

A slow suffocation
Can never fully contain
The fearless Goliath
That lingers patiently within

What preserves
My hungry forward stride
Can never fail me
Nor lure me into betrayal’s refuge