Breathless

It had been a long time

since I had felt
that all-too-familiar vise
tighten so much...

My heart is captive
to an embrace so strong,
to an embrace so dark,
that drowns me in pain.

Oh, so little tenderness,
yet such a fierce desire
to destroy it… yes, it,
my fragile little heart.

Oh my soul, will it remain unbroken?
So many obstacles, so many attacks…
I shatter a little more
with every impact.

Will my mind remain sound?
Or will desolation
bring it
to its end?

Crumbs… dust,
that is all that remains.
Will you give me a new heart,
or breathe upon my life
as though I were but a common beast?

My spirit cast down,
will you find me?
Hidden in the shadows,
I am defeated.

Breathless,
I cry your name…
yet I find myself without hope.

My voice is lost
in the clamor of silence,
my prayers fall to the ground
in a cold indifference.

Breathless,
I plead your name…
yet I find myself without hope.

Is it I who am fading,
or you who are hiding?
I stretch out my hands
toward a sky that drifts away.

A verse of encouragement, if these words touch you

Psalm 34:18–19
“When the righteous cry out, the Lord hears,
and delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,
and he saves those whose spirit is crushed.”

Psalm 51:12
“O God, create in me a pure heart,
and renew within me a steadfast spirit.”