Vessel

Skin stays heavy… under blankets worn thin… Body hums its slow, determined ache… My skin hangs heavy under blankets threadbare from the weight of days Back sinks deeper in this mattress soaked with every price I’ve paid Trace jagged lines on the ceiling’s cracked and peeling skin While this body just keeps on writhing in its slow, relentless ache Bottles full of pills lined like judges on the shelf Morning brings the same devil's bargain with my failing self Today the air dries canyons across this careful, weary throat A fracture splits the notes of every song I’ve ever sung These hands still tremble but they grip the strings and drag the music through This spirit keeps rising even when the bones scream “stay down, we’re through” I am not the sickness hiding inside this skin I’m the stubborn burning will that refuses to bend Through seasons drag and nights twist and never end This body is the vessel, it carries a will that won't bend Let fatigue come flowing through these heavy limbs I greet the old enemy with its' lessons dark and grim Every stab, every flare, every painful, ugly climb Another scar I trace across the map that still is mine I reclaim this broken, seeping temple pulling at painful seams Fill hollow rooms with light and dawn's thin gray gleam Tomorrow isn't promised but the next breath belongs to me Inside this caged vessel something feral is breaking free The path is twisted and some days I barely stand But my shaking hands reach and drag me up again I still log lines on the ceiling when pain prevents sleep Something deep answers no when the body begs for peace Breathe… don't bend Won't break… stand tall This life...This life Belongs to me This life… is… mine