A Cycling Season
I remember dying, just like the first time.
As bones break down, I glimpse its face peeking through sinew.
Every time witnesses watch me drown
in manufactured misery it places in me that I cannot mind-over-matter away.
This pain overtakes and disassembles me.
I retreat to an ever-shrinking room.
Alone I listen to the melancholic words
outside the false asylum I lie
so self-assured I will live on,
but I deteriorate.
I fear I will always futilely implore.
Wake me when this is over.
I don’t want to sleep forever
coexisting with the demons I keep beneath my killing floor.
Bryce christopher
Bryce Christopher holds degrees in neuroscience, psychology, and computer science. As a poet, he has found his inspiration in the unlikeliest of space between having Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Dilated Cardiomyopathy. By sharing his experiences with chronic pain, Bryce hopes readers will challenge their own perspective on the way pain cycles, grief, and how living can change in a matter of seconds. When Bryce is not studying, working, or writing, he enjoys drawing, discovering new music, and exploring hiking trails.