Deflated in the aftermath

Of my selfish struggle

This war scorches on

Raising plumes of denial

~

For the kind eyes of strangers

The stray remarks of travelers,

The graze of their affections

Feed an ever burning sorrow

~

I hold on to every praise

Through the onslaught of memory

When the outer world is silent

And my inner phantoms stalk   

~

I hold on

Dragged under  

By their fearful thrash

~

 I hold on   

For the weight,  

For the strain

And fading glory