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Breathe in deep

And count your steps along this

Darkened hallway

Stick your arms out

And feel for the wall

You’ve turned around

One too many times

You no longer know

Where you came from

Or where you are going

It drains from your memory

Gets lost in the echoes

Of your aimless footfalls

Stand still for a while

And hold your breath

Become aware of others

Stumbling in the dark

Share their hopes and dreams

Their fears and consternations

You will become as if a tribe,

A mob, an army unified

Though you cannot for the life of you

See what you fight

Or who you are hurting

Or who is hurting you

Or who gets buried

In the graves you’ve dug

I am the dread inhabiting your heart

I am the comfort of stagnation

I am your doubt and your mistrust

I am the need to feel superior

I am the knot in your stomach

I am the cold perspiration

I am the gnawing ache in your bones

I am what cries out through your soul

The path in darkness leads to

Utter ruination

Weapons poised to maim and kill

As a first recourse

This is not a place of honor

No great deeds commemorated here

Just waste and radiation

A future for the children

Ask yourself for whom you fight

With your lack of sight

Shield your eyes with all your might

You fucking troglodyte

When some modern Nero

Lights up the night

With atomic fire

You will see the light

So embrace it

The end you’ve written