tallonrk1
06-09-2013, 02:01 AM
We’ve made it into the fourth hour
Down this long, winding path
That gets clearer the closer we are to our destination.
It’s the final lap,
Treading these thick waters,
That have swallowed us into darkness before.
It’s the last hundred meters
Running out of breath, gasping for air,
But hold on—hold on—we’re almost there.
These past three hours have seemed a lifetime,
But there’s the old gas station with the broken pump,
And there’s that local mart that has fed us well.
These landmarks we’ve seen so many times before,
And yet what a flurry of excitement each time we see them
From the window of this beat up, weathered car.
Almost there, just another hour!
Hold on—hold on—just another hour.
And yet how strong the desire is to leap straight out
Of this black, wretched van!
Oh how far we travelled—oh what we have endured!
The baby that screams continuously in the backseat—
Like nails descending a bottomless blackboard.
The dog that barks at every passerby—
Like a jackhammer piercing the shining concrete.
And how small, humid, and stuffy it is!
Like being stuffed inside a cardboard box—
An oblong box—
That constricts your vocal cords before you have time
To scream!
I can’t breathe!
Oh, I cannot breathe!
Too close for comfort—
Even my friend in the seat next to me
Has become annoyed and bothered with my so-called
“Hysterical antics”.
Oh, what used to be?
What even is?
Just hold on—hold on—
We’re in the fourth hour.
Up and Down, Up and Down.
Oh, how telling of the days.
Back and forth, here and there.
So many laps, too many to count.
But we’re almost there—almost there,
With a heavy chest and receding eyes, nonetheless.
Oh what a force gravity is—
Like an anvil on the heart,
Which is so deformed and worn down,
That I can’t remember a time the heart was meant
To transport blood, rather than to bleed it.
But keep swimming, that’s what we must do!
Swim against this treacherous current,
And the sinister swamp monster that lies beneath.
Rise against the tide! Ride upon the wave!
Another swing of the arm, like a swan,
Diving into the deep unknown.
But this time it doesn’t come back up.
Soon water replaces oxygen,
And the sights are nothing but a dark blue.
Is that the monster I hear, with his distant, graveled voice;
Or is it my senses diming out the world?
I can’t breathe!
I cannot breathe!
My lungs must have shriveled to the size of grapes.
Another gulp of poison
And now I can feel my neurons giving way.
But we’ve come so far!
So with a flick of a leg, and a swoop of an arm
The lights reappear, suddenly brighter than before,
More intense, hot, and focused.
A coughing fit, expanding lungs,
Oh, but where am I now?
How much time has passed?
What even is?
Just hold on—hold on—
We’re in the final lap.
The sweat, so rich and plentiful, but oh how expensive.
I had to pay my entire supply of oxygen for it.
Surely even if I fail, this will be proof of my work ethic,
Right? No matter, no time to think, just run.
No thinking, just running.
Got to keep up the pace, or else I’ll fall behind—
Got no time for philosophy,
Got no time to become one with nature,
Got to go fast, fast, fast.
Oh, but how my legs burn in the wind!
I’ve been running so long—too long!
Can you not see the pain ripping through my face?
My spine—an elastic rubber band,
Dangling and corkscrewing with no fixed form.
How fast my heart must pump!
How fast my lungs must work!
Got to go fast, fast, fast.
But I trip on a rock in the middle of the lane,
And my chest greets the pavement with reluctance,
Knocking all pride, will, and breath out of me.
I can’t breathe!
I cannot breathe!
And nobody stops to help me up!
No one risks falling behind to help their fellow peer!
But no matter—we’ve come to far—
I drag myself to my feet,
But where has everyone gone?
What even is?
Just hold on—hold on—
We’re in the last hundred meters.
I do remember that one time,
Somewhere about halfway through the trip,
When my little brother took a nap on my leg,
Regardless of the bumpy road.
And I remember, somewhere in the third hour,
When my friend played a game of cards with me.
Oh how my heart swelled at these moments,
And suddenly the car didn’t seem as small.
These are the memories
And the connections
I will miss
When it comes to an end.
And I wonder what waits for me—
What waits for us—
In this fourth hour.
And I know how much experience
And knowledge I’ve gained,
Swimming back and forth,
Up and down.
And I wonder what more I will learn
In this final lap.
Oh the stamina I’ve gained,
Going fast, fast, fast,
Around this track of uncertainty.
And I wonder how my abilities
Will be strained once again
In this final hundred meters.
But if there’s one thing I’m certain of, it’s that—
When I open that door,
And take in the first breathe of crisp air,
That first breathe of freedom—
When I step out of the water
And allow my heart to grow
So that it can once again have feeling—
When I break through the finish line
And allow my lungs to catch a breath
And allow my legs to relax—
All of the blood, the sweat, the tears,
The pain, the agony, the suffocation—
All of it—
Will be worth it.
Hold on—hold on—
We’re all in this together.
Down this long, winding path
That gets clearer the closer we are to our destination.
It’s the final lap,
Treading these thick waters,
That have swallowed us into darkness before.
It’s the last hundred meters
Running out of breath, gasping for air,
But hold on—hold on—we’re almost there.
These past three hours have seemed a lifetime,
But there’s the old gas station with the broken pump,
And there’s that local mart that has fed us well.
These landmarks we’ve seen so many times before,
And yet what a flurry of excitement each time we see them
From the window of this beat up, weathered car.
Almost there, just another hour!
Hold on—hold on—just another hour.
And yet how strong the desire is to leap straight out
Of this black, wretched van!
Oh how far we travelled—oh what we have endured!
The baby that screams continuously in the backseat—
Like nails descending a bottomless blackboard.
The dog that barks at every passerby—
Like a jackhammer piercing the shining concrete.
And how small, humid, and stuffy it is!
Like being stuffed inside a cardboard box—
An oblong box—
That constricts your vocal cords before you have time
To scream!
I can’t breathe!
Oh, I cannot breathe!
Too close for comfort—
Even my friend in the seat next to me
Has become annoyed and bothered with my so-called
“Hysterical antics”.
Oh, what used to be?
What even is?
Just hold on—hold on—
We’re in the fourth hour.
Up and Down, Up and Down.
Oh, how telling of the days.
Back and forth, here and there.
So many laps, too many to count.
But we’re almost there—almost there,
With a heavy chest and receding eyes, nonetheless.
Oh what a force gravity is—
Like an anvil on the heart,
Which is so deformed and worn down,
That I can’t remember a time the heart was meant
To transport blood, rather than to bleed it.
But keep swimming, that’s what we must do!
Swim against this treacherous current,
And the sinister swamp monster that lies beneath.
Rise against the tide! Ride upon the wave!
Another swing of the arm, like a swan,
Diving into the deep unknown.
But this time it doesn’t come back up.
Soon water replaces oxygen,
And the sights are nothing but a dark blue.
Is that the monster I hear, with his distant, graveled voice;
Or is it my senses diming out the world?
I can’t breathe!
I cannot breathe!
My lungs must have shriveled to the size of grapes.
Another gulp of poison
And now I can feel my neurons giving way.
But we’ve come so far!
So with a flick of a leg, and a swoop of an arm
The lights reappear, suddenly brighter than before,
More intense, hot, and focused.
A coughing fit, expanding lungs,
Oh, but where am I now?
How much time has passed?
What even is?
Just hold on—hold on—
We’re in the final lap.
The sweat, so rich and plentiful, but oh how expensive.
I had to pay my entire supply of oxygen for it.
Surely even if I fail, this will be proof of my work ethic,
Right? No matter, no time to think, just run.
No thinking, just running.
Got to keep up the pace, or else I’ll fall behind—
Got no time for philosophy,
Got no time to become one with nature,
Got to go fast, fast, fast.
Oh, but how my legs burn in the wind!
I’ve been running so long—too long!
Can you not see the pain ripping through my face?
My spine—an elastic rubber band,
Dangling and corkscrewing with no fixed form.
How fast my heart must pump!
How fast my lungs must work!
Got to go fast, fast, fast.
But I trip on a rock in the middle of the lane,
And my chest greets the pavement with reluctance,
Knocking all pride, will, and breath out of me.
I can’t breathe!
I cannot breathe!
And nobody stops to help me up!
No one risks falling behind to help their fellow peer!
But no matter—we’ve come to far—
I drag myself to my feet,
But where has everyone gone?
What even is?
Just hold on—hold on—
We’re in the last hundred meters.
I do remember that one time,
Somewhere about halfway through the trip,
When my little brother took a nap on my leg,
Regardless of the bumpy road.
And I remember, somewhere in the third hour,
When my friend played a game of cards with me.
Oh how my heart swelled at these moments,
And suddenly the car didn’t seem as small.
These are the memories
And the connections
I will miss
When it comes to an end.
And I wonder what waits for me—
What waits for us—
In this fourth hour.
And I know how much experience
And knowledge I’ve gained,
Swimming back and forth,
Up and down.
And I wonder what more I will learn
In this final lap.
Oh the stamina I’ve gained,
Going fast, fast, fast,
Around this track of uncertainty.
And I wonder how my abilities
Will be strained once again
In this final hundred meters.
But if there’s one thing I’m certain of, it’s that—
When I open that door,
And take in the first breathe of crisp air,
That first breathe of freedom—
When I step out of the water
And allow my heart to grow
So that it can once again have feeling—
When I break through the finish line
And allow my lungs to catch a breath
And allow my legs to relax—
All of the blood, the sweat, the tears,
The pain, the agony, the suffocation—
All of it—
Will be worth it.
Hold on—hold on—
We’re all in this together.