Blindsided once more, at my own hand
Replacing solace with frustration.
Journeying backwards to never, never land.
Pathway chosen, self condemnation.

Confidence exchanged for uncertainty.
Rose-colored specks misplaced.
Powerless it seems, to dispel adversity.
Joy's, substituted for pure toxic waste.

Traveling theses well trodden trails.
Stranger I am not, I don't need a chart.
Familiar with all theses poignant tails.
I know the way too well, finish to start.

Crumbs aren't needed, or flags to follow.
Tombs never change, corridors stay the same.
I have been here many times to wallow.
Knowing every inhabitant, intimately by name.

Never has it been one of my favorite places.
Demons bark and taunt, knowing all my faults.
Running me ragged, as put through my paces.
One could call it a dance, but it's not a waltz.

Exhausting me, because so many seek my soul.
Shouting, touting me, until I could just scream.
Navigating these dimly lit labyrinths, always painful.
Locked behind barred doors, poltergeists regime.

Why am I always needing to return this way?
What have I left undone in my previous visits?
Have I not observed enough, in my past survey?
To graduate, do I need to earn more credits?

Must I unlock these cells, in order to be free?
No, that will never happen, while I'm on watch.
You will never harm another, I possess the key.
Your thoughts of freedom, I will forever botch.

I hate my visits here, never have they been satisfactory.
Until the day I die, and I'm taken away from this earth.
Every time I pass through, my own personal purgatory.
I will continue checking these bars and locks for worth.