footsteps echo down the hall
like sand
down the stairs down the steps
and down you go
alone
alone
the rooms are too big there is too much
space
between you and the wall
not enough
air
to breathe
the silence suffocates you
burrows
deep down
inside your throat where
words
should be but instead there is only
darkness
multiplying and dividing
simple math problems that aren't so simple when they're
happening to you
and you're scared
your footsteps echo
sand
grains of granules of sand
shifting beneath you
taking your feet
out from
underneath
falling down
the shadows combine
speak
from the corners of from the edges of
the world
surround you
you will be buried here
between the darkness and isolation
underneath
all your nightmares and exhaustion
weary nights and draining days
dragging
dreams that rip out the very
heart of you
leave you waking
soaked
to the bone bare down to
the core
shaking
afraid
of everything and nothing all at once and
how
are you supposed to live
like this?