Heart beats in time with the
pounding waves of worry
at the base of my neck,
lost to the questioning – am I
alive or dead? The voices beyond
the veil speculate my outcome
in the pause of each breath.
Are they figments or beings?
Are they friends or are they foes?
Swimming in the shadows behind
my closed eyes they whisper and
shake loose the hidden darkness
waiting for me to gasp and gulp
the stale air of 4am mysteries.