Sanity's Dream

Effort
 in everything

That day
  possibly that night

Hunger and thirst
  a heat wave settling over the land

Dust rises
 covering everything

Like the memory
 growing fainter with every breath

Burdens
 come with each move
  each step toward eternity

Forever
 just a word

Maybe a time span
 covering more than the dust
  leaving behind residue

Gone
 yet still here

Lost somewhere
 on a road
  or maybe a river

Forget
 yet, how could you?

A burning kiss
 or a searing touch

Seeking relief in the burning tar
 the smell
  an added relief

Why hurry?
 hurry to where?

The next phase is like a yield sign
 barely slowing down
  speeding up as you pass

Praying for release
  from the demons that hold you
   clawing at your skin
     driving you beyond sanity
       and way beyond desperation

No fear
 only pain

Pain is like life
 a pinch of reality
  keeping you on the move

Down the road
 out of state
  just a theory

Tearing away the ropes
  ropes that are weak

Pulling and pulling
 to freedom's doorstep

Falling in a heap
 hearing the cries
  cries of pain, loss, and hurt

It goes on
 the list
  it does

To forever's house
 with the waves crashing nearby

Sanity
 it is here

Twisted around
 becoming an insider

Or is that insanity
 words
  like a slap in the face
   or a broken nose
     gushing blood
       like a sweet red wine

Tasting of salt
 what a release

Broken and bloody
 where the mind wanders
  and there is relief

Let it out
 the pain
  those thoughts

Intent on destruction
 in the grip of the reaper
  who takes you away

Away from here
  or maybe from over there
   or could it be from anywhere?

Olivia J Stuart
Summer 1998