The downward spiral
begins.
The weights pile on
my shoulders.
I collapse

I go under.
These thoughts,
toxic,
race through my mind.
My brain winces
as they run rampant
in my skull

I stay under.
These emotions,
toxic,
charge through my soul.
My heart aches
as they twist around
in my chest

I reach for my box
of twenty class-A crutches
and extract one

With the introduction of
these
toxic
chemicals,
those toxic thoughts,
those toxic emotions
are sedated

I see the light.
An internal silence
allows me to pull myself
out of the hole.

But the light
is merely
the ember
that rests between my fingers.

For when my
crutch
is reduced to
ash,
those sedated
toxic thoughts
and toxic emotions
are again free
to stampede
through my mind
and through my heart