Through the Underbrush

The air is compressing our lungs
It's hard to breathe in
The air is thick and cold
So very cold
Needle-sharp air of
Nothingness

There is a darkness here
Unlike any other
A single distance
Of fear and
Paranoia
A continuum

We struggle through the air
As if we were held down
By chains
Locked and eternal
Weighed down by memory
And nightmare

The darkness has captured us
Separated us
Left us calling out
To ourselves
Crawling in the dark
So cold, so alone

So many have traveled
Before us
There is a path
Faint and just as cold
The underbrush
Is enough to discourage

I call out to you
Hear my voice,
Stale, and hollow
Sounding back to me
You are so far
But I can still feel you

You call to me,
Crying
In fear, in pain
In desperation
It's not from lack of listening
That I cannot hear you

I struggle forward
But you stay put
As all who are lost
Should
But those who do not seek to find themselves
Cannot be found otherwise

I cannot find you behind
I look for you constantly
Waiting, hoping
You will catch up
But moving forward
Saving myself

I cannot save you
We are separate
And alone
It is not survival of the fittest
But survival
Of the most willing to live

I have found a darkness
Not unsettling
A place to breathe
Warm air
A blanket to a near-frozen
Hope

You are still back there
I know it
I feel it
Every now and then
I can hear you
Kicking through the underbrush

I'm waiting now
I still creep forward
But at a much slower pace
I won't wait for you
But I can wait for
Your release

You are imprisoned
By your own
Darkness
Mine has slowly
Dissipated
To a thick fog

Every now and then
I catch a glimpse of you
As you, I
Between the branches and leaves
Of our prison,
Our escape

I walk beside you
Treading the same ground
As you
Encouraging the survival
The willingness to keep on
To overcome

Even darkness gives way to light
Slowly
But certainly
Even a light
That has not yet been found
Within