There’s a tower
with broken and crumbling steps
I climb every day
the frigid and musty air
makes my lungs ache
it’s so dark
my eyes strain to see steps
going on forever
I get up on step
fall down two

each time I get up
more battered and bruised
if I could get to the top
everything would be okay
everything would be perfect
the top
make it to the top

one foot in front of the other

                                  right
                       left
          right

left
when I fall
it’s difficult to get up
the pain is excruciating
the wounds don’t heal

sometimes I see people
up ahead
but it’s always shadows

loneliness consumes me
I can’t keep going
moving is impossible
I sit on the steps
eaten by the darkness
and what lies within it

my fingers become numb and stiff
gripping the walls
my feet feel like lead
it takes everything to lift them

I don’t remember why
I’m climbing these stairs
I’m almost there
I can see the top
I can’t

the top will be a fairy tale
a ceaseless happy ending
it will be everything
I ever wanted

how long have I been climbing?
time seems to pass me by
I only know it passes
because of the pain

every step looks the same
a sickly gray
with undisturbed dirt
I look behind me
it all looks the same
I lose all sense of
everything

my head hits something
I look up to see
a ceiling
made of clear glass
I press my face against it

the other side is fantastic
there are bright
and colorful lights
my breath fogs
and distorts them

there is the faintest
trace of music
how do I get there?
but there are no
cracks
doors
steps

this is the end
my fists hurt
from pounding
the shadows
don’t hear me
tears cool
my chilled body

my heart falls
hitting every step
on the way down