My last breath
Will tear itself out of me
A blade dragged slow
Through the quiet I tried to keep
It will thrash
A wounded animal refusing the dark
A final snarl of everything
I swallowed to stay alive
Let it split the air open
Let it crack the night
Like bone under too much truth
Let it echo with every war
I fought inside my own skin
I want it to leave marks
On the silence
On the shadows
On the versions of me
That thought endurance
Was the same thing as peace
My last breath
Will not be gentle
It will go out swinging
Dragging the ghosts with it
Ripping the old names
From my throat
As it escapes
And when it’s gone
Let the world know
I did not die quietly
I carved my way out
I broke the dark open
I left the night bleeding light