Combined Illusions

i.

i have dreams
that pin me down
to concrete,
drowning me lifeless,
parched and philosophic

but i was not conceptual
and i don't die deluded
so i played tricks
to outfox the trickster

only to find myself
conned.



ii.

the chandeliers crashed
on hollow floors,
resounding echoes
beneath the planks -
with each tap
the heels
confine me
to the monotony
of sounds
that blast
through
my ears,
attempting
to burn me
alive.



iii.

i am convinced
that the walls breathe
slow exhales,
making me trip over
my bones.

there is no pulse
beneath ribs
just needles
and kaleidoscopes -
jesters that run
through nerves
as though they found
solace in screams.

i hold it in:
muted and paralysed,
but the leeches still grow
in my brain
until its expansion
is not just metaphorical
or window-dressed
but valley-deep
and flooded.



iv.

i am not insane,
unstable
or
abnormal

but when my lungs
become concave
and
the hysteria
drags me in

i'm not even fit
for myself.