Riptides of loneliness draw us to an ocean of seclusion,

Mercy beckons from shores of loving sands,

with stubborn hope we fight the current frantic for the land.

heartbreak, and anger diminish resolution.

Relentless tides of grief drag us down,

Crushed by waves of betrayal, we are gagged and bound.

The hard fists of fate impeding our return,

solitude freezes hearts, while we rage and burn.

Drifting further away, our anchor does not hold,

sweeping us toward death, alone, forlorn, cold.

The coast so very close, but never moving near,

Shark-like despair circles hope; changing it to fear,

Learn to swim again; don’t let the gloom in,

if we decide to just exist, we become as tin.

Elect not the weakness of fools, 

fight back when this world becomes cruel.

If we stop trying we drown, trapped in an eternal state,

do not choose to settle for the icy embrace of fate,

or you prove that it is not others, but ourselves we hate.

   Bryan David Lang