rabbit
glass eyes wide, heart racing under all that fur.
run, like you can escape the thing that will always catch you.
run, like you can escape that which surrounds you.
if your feet hit the ground hard enough, if your breath quickens to a fast enough pace, you might be able to outpace it all.
lose your face, it has dissolved in the wind.
lose your mind, it flew out of your streamlined ears long ago.
only the pavement remains, hot under your paws, burning from the midday sun long after it has set.
if you stumble, the pavement will catch you, arms hard and unyielding. you will see yourself painted out over it. if you slow, the tiredness will set in. don't stop. don't hesitate. keep running.
mouth dry, eyes blistered by the wind, incapable of taking rest. the concrete wearing down layers of flesh from your feet. bloody bone on the pavement now, feel it and know you have to keep running. watch your brain pour out of your eyes and understand; this will kill you before you will.
this will kill you more brutally than you ever could.