I Step Forward.

The chills will never leave me.
Paths have blown across my face
with the wind, ever changing,
never staying.

I search around me,
frantically looking for the way through.
Seeing the true eightfold path,
I step on a crack.
It swallows me whole.

Will I ever escape this?
I doubt that I can,
for he will not let me.
His skeleton grin beckons.
I must join him in his hollow existence.

Perhaps he wants his substance back,
that which I stole.
But can what is rightfully mine be considered
stolen?

His wiry arms pin me down,
as his hollow mouth seeks to swallow me whole.
I squirm and refuse to go gently,
fighting the urge to give in,
just once more.

I scream my negative,
convincing both him and me:
It is over,
he can attempt it no more.

I am me,
and will always be.

Again, I stand at the path,
the eight folds before me.
I know where to step now,
I simply must take those steps.

I step forward.
It becomes easier.
I step forward.
The path rises to meet my steps.