Elevator

I could breathe fire within a heartbeat. While the
Whole world seems to be inside this moving vault,
Slowly falling into bedlam-
I am an outcast of sorts,
Though the center of this small but enormously frightening universe.
Eyes to the right of me, and
Bulging and bloodshot are those to the left of me.
All thieves of my identity, they are, and
Pilferers of my innermost thoughts,
Penetrating my brain.
Avid mind readers house this space.
Inside of this sinking box,
My pupils dilate with fright as their surrounding eyes
Penetrate my gut, and their
Sharp tongues are lashing out at me.
In all honesty I can say I am terrified.
When the doors slide open and are unlocked with a phantom key,
The first to exit, I breathe a sigh of relief, though only for a moment, as
I have just stepped into another world more threatening,
Lacking even a corner in which to hide-
The summer’s heat sets my soul a fire,
No rain falls to snuff out the flame, and
Three billion sets of eyes toy with my thoughts.
As an outcast I can do none but stand alone, though with
No firm ground beneath my feet.
I can clearly see stars before my eyes, as the pain I feel is
The only reality that I am aware of now,
This world filled with artificial people
I cannot compete with, with their
Fancy jobs and phony lives-
Self-glorification is my only means of survival now.
If I could only grasp the moon, the sun or one of those stars
Before my eyes, I would, and
I would cry if the tears would come, but everyone knows that
Tears don’t fall from the heart of a burning soul
And it doesn’t rain in hell…

Claudia Krizay (schizocalud)