i.
my eyes are hollow.

happiness is hiding from me,
silence is stalking, suffocating.

how do i smile?


ii.
the roads are too long, too
slippery. it's too easy to get lost.

and i have no map.

could someone be my map?
please?


iii.
'you haven't lost
until you've given up,'
they remind me.

'don't give up.'


iv.
sometimes i wonder -

what if i already have given up?
have i lost, then?


v.
stop asking me to breathe, please.
stop asking me to live.
stop asking me to be happy.

i don't want to.


vi.
if God could see me now,
what would He think of me?

[it can't be good.]


vii.
sunshine hurts my eyes.

the only cage i'm in is one i've made myself.

why, then, can't i break out of it?


viii.
'i believe in you.'

but you shouldn't.
but you shouldn't.

[i'm not worth it.]


ix.
my heartbeats sound suffocated.


x.
please don't leave.
please
don't

go.