Sinking

it's remarkable how swiftly i'm
sinking
like quicksand my dreams, life, soul,
and being
are sucked into a vicious
vortex

how can you save a life that's
slipping
right through the gap between
your eyelashes,
the crevice between your
cracked lips,
the sliver of nothingness between
pain and more pain

it's a wonder that i still breathe
when the will has escaped me,
when the lights are out in my soul,
when the sweet smell of deliverance is all
i crave.