Hope is the bridge between despair and joy

But I’ve lost hope

I was good at swimming for so long

That I forgot drowning was an option

But now I’m sinking

The water is flooding over my head

And I’m being pulled down

Down

Down

Until I hit the rocky floor

And the air leaves my lungs

But I don’t try to swim back up

Because I only ever learned how to tread the water

All I can do is wait and hope

That someone will save me and pull me back up to the surface

But even then I’ll still be gasping for air

Soaking wet

Mascara running down my cheeks the same it does every night I get overwhelmed

Every time my dad says he’s proud of me

That I’m a good kid

And he knows I work hard

That invisible force pulls me down just a little faster

And the floor is so far down

That I don’t know if it’s really there at all

But I do know that I’m drowning

In a sea of my own disappointment

Because I’ve given up hope

All I can do is pray for a liferaft