If you’ve ever had a hand scraping its fingernails

across the soft part of your back

where your soul is buried

under good intentions

and the strength outside

wants to come in

but you won’t let them

and the challenge is mounting

like your last stand,

lie down

and forget

the need to overcome

resting in the pages

of a good book

where a man concludes his life

before his life is concluded

the ending

is the most important part

because the difficult stories we tell

even if, half-baked

mean something

so, resist

and write to the end

to the very last day

because

you need to

to stay alive.