Last Gasp
A state of mindless exhaustion overwhelms me
I feel wrung out
Over-wrought
Strained to the very limits of endurance
I’m at the end of my tether
And the rope is strangling me
It’s choking off my mournful breaths
Damming my lifeblood
An icy chill is seeping through my flesh
I feel Death himself has penetrated me
As for my heart the poor thing is almost gone
She’s coughing out her death rattle
Turning the blood to cheap supermarket wine in my veins
You can see it in my eyes
I’m giving my last gasp
I’ve struggled to survive for oh-so long
But my efforts have proven worthless
Perpetual spasms of life and every one of them in vain
Life has deserted me
She did so long ago
For she is a fickle mistress and I failed to satisfy
Now I’m abandoned on the scrapheap
A puny scrap of human flesh
My lungs deflating with each new gasp of air
My heart throbbing in her final beats
I raise a fragile bird-like hand
Clutching a white handkerchief
And wave it in surrender
Copyright © Amy Van De Casteele | Year Posted 2009
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