Struggle Poem by Judith R. Robinson

Struggle
a body
fights hard inches
erroneously sadly sometimes
eating its selfsame
self in sips then chunks
then bloody gulps

a mind which cannot
quiet scurries
around edges
finds poison shards
free to pick away
when inevitably
approached.

no flat of hand
no fierce swipe
will defend
against them
they rule & rip
scream orders &
are never disobeyed.

bits of heart
still left
will pray for chance
for change for deals
for tricks for breaks
for paths for fixes.