Clock hands track fast across the boiling sky
Opportunity fades like a blood-shot eye
The backward spinning of the compass
Locking on the committed purpose
Pointing into the unrelenting storm
Tattered and torn, resistant to conform
Testing the boundlessness of the heart
Not pure or soft just purposely smart
A swan dive to the depth of memory
Engaging nerve reflex and sensory
Briefly stranded in a thunderous rainfall
Caught looking at a blistering curve-ball
Licking open wounds but will not retreat
Quickly retooled determined not to repeat
The new arrivals ask what do you treasure
Without hesitation, what you cannot measure
A tightened grip struggling with all her might
Next person up in this never-ending fight
Mounting toll and rising personal cost
But turning away admits all is lost
Standing alone in the deep growing shadow
Clenching the worn and personal manifesto
Now, more than ever
Stand strong together
