-In the Presence of the Enemy-
Breathe slowly--
inhale in submission.
It's silent.
Breathe deeply--
taste the resignation
and regret.

War. Peace. This is me suffocating.
Spare me. Sympathy's patronizing. (Release the fear and the self-loathing.)

I'm giving in
and I'm not holding back.
My concern is burning out.
I'm letting go.
I learned the lesson well.
Inhibition drifts away.

Despair like fire
burns my hope away.
I'm sinking deeper,
baptized in the flame.

Before the clouds can cry I pull them deep and hold them in.
Lungs burn like oceans doused in oil and I'm tranquil again.

Rounds of exhaust, no chaser. I take them straight.
This apathy's no stranger, never deviates.

This is my enemy.
This is me breathing.
I am my enemy.
This is me breathing.