We rose from ruin

On rebel wings,

Spitting fire

And fraying strings

That kept us bound

Safe and sound

Now, from these heights,

It's a long way down.

And we never dreamed

Before we learned to fly

That the stakes we built

Would become this high...

Raw fingers touch

engraved letters

embossing my tombstone.

I ran out of steam

before I arrived.

High stakes of my past

pinned me

to the dank earth.

Rain driving in sheets

floods my elapsed soul.

I tried to turn away

from the violence

of the sun,

racing my demons

going too fast

for my road.

dealt a losing hand

in my high stakes game -

accelerated pace,

break neck speed

went over the edge

and under the ledge

killed by enemies

of happenstance.

Now, I lie alone

in caged silence

in the dark

entangled by

    roots.

The stakes get higher,

pushing us over the edge,

the odds there to beat.

To every gambler out there