Bite the Bullet (poem)

Bite the bullet and feel it in your teeth.
The skin on your tongue will burn away:
You will survive if, lurking underneath,
There lies the intensity of the night of the day
In which you realise that those closest
Are the ones most dangerous.
Their proximity blurs their nature;
Your kindness limits your success.
Do not listen to a soul:
Reflect on your sole.

Where have you been; what have you done?
Are you yet what you might become?
For better or worse, it will all come soon:
Better to breathe cold air under the light of the moon
Than to lie and pretend you prefer the sun.
Quite ethereal, the way to go
Is nevertheless as real as you, or I,
Or this: You've "wasted" many years
Simply fighting for your freedom—
Is it not the case, my dearest friend,
That nothing is wasted if it has a purpose?
That was, after all, the reason why
I said so many times—"it's all for nought".
Who knew one day I would have thought
"I am glad that it happened this way."

The vivid years seem so far away
And your age becomes a half-pulled sticker
Whose adhesive you can't quite remove.
Yes—until you awake one day
And realise that you've got nothing left to lose.