Despair

Oh, the despair,
Of a man condemned.

Every breath a struggle,

Every movement hindered,
By the knowledge of his fate.

The body of man,
In these moments of despair,
Shows its depravity.

Food becomes tasteless,
Drinking only out of necessity,
The heart beats erratically.

His hands start to quiver,

His feet grow cold and clammy,

His stomach churns with tension.

Yet the sufferings of the body,

Are naught in comparison,
To those of the mind.

Oh, the despair,
Of a mind condemned.

It becomes twisted,
Engages in wild fantasies,
Creating false memories.

Soon it deceives him,

He believes that perhaps his fate,
Is not real.

Then he might close his eyes,
Tightly shut,

So tightly!

Fully expectant to open them and see,
A place different from the jail he lies,
Sadly reality is not so kind.

Oh, the despair,

That hits when those eyes open.

Fear clutches the heart,

With its frigid fist,
Chilling his blood.

He wonders,
Could this truly be fate?
NO!

His mind insists upon an alternate truth,
So the eyes close again,
And the sick cycle of madness repeats itself.

But these fleeting moments,
These mere minutes of ignorant bliss,
Are never enough to keep the pain at bay.

His body pleads,

Begging the respite of sleep,
If only it knew...

Oh, the despair,

Of the dreams in the condemned in slumber.

Now the mind is truly lost,
Descended into pure confusion,
And dreadful madness.

He dreams of his fate taking a different turn,
And as it diverges from the truthful outcome,
He derives pleasure in such self deceit!

However the laws of nature are absolute,
And so all dreams must come to and end,

As all aspects of mortals must one day end.

The rooster crows,
Ears receptive to the sound,
The condemned man awakens.

Erupting in a MASSIVE roar,
Wishing to kill the damned fowl,
That DARED to tear him from his mind's lies!

Hands grasping at loosening grey hairs,
Nails scratching off dying skin,
Tears crawling down a face lined with horror.

Oh, the despair,
In the agonizing reality,
Lived by a man condemned to die.