I was fading fast and

drowning past the demons

that so readily were waiting

to pull me down; trying to pound

the nightmares into my heart; trying

to tear me apart. I didn’t know if I was

strong enough to push back –

a love attack

stopped me in midair and I sat there

and stared

and realized that I don’t care

about the diminutive tasks at hand

because I’ve finally reached land after

the longest uphill swim in history.