you stagger, under the pouring rain. one eye half closed, swollen. enough to hold back the tears

choking a bottle with one hand. with the other, you push your long, drench hair away from your face

a cigarette, now dead, slips from your broken lip. the wind is getting stronger. so much, that you need to plant your feet. firmly

this wind is stitching your cold clothes to your bones

as if you’d care

you ask yourself
how is this possible

how could you end up like this, right here

below you the sea is boiling, homicidal. one wind gust makes you slip, badly. your elbow. your bottle, it shatters. your ankle just bents, unnaturally

and instead of screaming in pain, you remain still, staring at the black waves
with that look. with that grin

and you, slowly, get back up

you ask yourself
how is this possible
how are you still standing

it’s just nothing. salt water and wine mix with your cuts. but you, you don’t feel them. and what can one fall be, after a life spent plummeting. high waves and a storm, that’s nothing after a life spent drowning

time slows down. you recall all the humiliations, the pain, the hardship. your hard work. your sacrifices, your sleepless nights. the blood, the sweat, the tears

you ask yourself
how is this possible
how the fuck
didn’t you kill yourself already

you suddenly go blind. you hear no sounds. an electrostatic blanket covers every inch of your skin. your pupils, like needles. lightning striking the ground just a few feet away from you
a hollow roar begins to make its way into your ringing ears
and as you regain your sight
you wonder

how is this possible

I mean, you are still here. with your successes, your goals. your mission
nothing broke you. nothing sank you
yet

you managed to make up a life from nothing
you already know it, that you’ll get ahead of everyone
this is a war and you, you are a warrior. a silhouette, standing against a lightning storm
a bolt of pure energy, so much you can’t even contain it
maybe, just maybe, you actually have an answer

maybe
just maybe
there’s no storm that can take you away