Damaged Goods

I'm feeling this inertia right now
Trapped in infinite loop
That magic 8
Lost on the track
Derailed and ensnared
by glossy promises
and rose-colored lenses

But
what if

This is as good as it gets?

What if this freedom consumes me whole?
The deep freeze is coming
but everyone is in denial
I have seen it
I have been in the trenches

But sight isn't enough
— You have to live it
You had to be like
the phoenix

I am the clay, though
Wet with worry
Too pliable
made in the image
of a foregone age
of prosperity