Atrophy

Nightmarish
may be an
overused descriptor
for what event
can truly capture
the fluid terror
that comes to us
in troubled sleep
when sucking shadows
besiege our psyches
with such maligned fervor
when we lie
at our weakest
 and yet
there are times
when we find ourselves in situations
whose construct and conceit
could not be more trying
more painful
more testing
when our deepest fears
are splayed out
leering and jovial
in front of us
when our past
confronts us with toothy rapture
daring us to panic
or react with hostility
and gradually
after prologned discomfort
our vitality is drained
and all we can hope
is to endure.