A Brief Original Ode to His Fall and Rise

Into the darkness with uncertain fear,
traveling deeper than imagined,
breathing shallow as the pressure increases,
embracing pain not as a friend
but as an enemy that must be held close,
being dragged down and down
further into the cave of death,
wrapped tighter and tighter,
all breath being squeezed out,
immovable, helpless, trapped,
closeted into a total blackness,
until I am gone, stepped over
into the realm fully opposite of me,

nothing, nothing, nothing,
empty, empty, empty,
silence, silence, silence

Tiny ember... A word spoken!
I hear it! Listen...
Yes...there it is...
piercing the darkness and deafness,
"ARISE!"
Spark! Spark! Spark!
LIFE!
I LIVE!

-LJWalkemeyer