The Struggle

A shell
waiting,
refusing to open.
Enclosing the body,
the core, the heart.
A film, fog,
a slithering copperhead
poisons the flesh
of the isolated mind.
The heart, beating,
blood, pumping,
waiting
to see if the mind can be saved.
The shell, trapping,
the snake, wrapping, steadily squeezing
and choking the mind.
Everything, waiting, the pressure mounts.
The snake, never tires, the mind, cowers,
the heart has the strength to keep pumping, pumping.
Something is breaking, the mind, tired.
Resigned, it gives in
but it's not gone.
The shell's
broken,
the heart, fighting,
wakens the mind
and subdues the snake.
The fog, clears.
The mind, cheers, watching its captor slither away.
The plight, ended,
the body, untouched,
the mind goes to rest
while the heart keeps watch.