Derailment Poem by Catlin Kehoe

Have you ever slipped into the cold dark nothingness that is obscurity?
Have you ever climbed so far in life only to see it all come to a crashing halt?
Have you ever fallen for someone who wasn’t there to catch you?
Have you ever woken only to realize that a life you once cherished has spun out of control?
I wish I could say that I haven’t, but that would be a lie.

Have you ever gone so far under that you could no longer see the surface?
Have you ever ventured so far from the light that you have become blinded by darkness?
Have you ever looked back upon the past with dismay and regret?
Have you ever sat still only to have the epiphany that the best of life is behind you?
I wish I could say that I haven’t, but that would be a lie.

Have you ever sold yourself short only to realize it was your inevitable future?
Have you ever looked back only to find a trail of mistakes and errors?
Have you ever laid in silence only to find that your life has been derailed?
Have you ever become the person you swore you’d never be?
I wish I could say that I haven’t, but that would be a lie.

Have you ever been caught in a rut formed by your own mistakes?
Have you ever been consumed by regret and thoughts of what could have been?
Have you ever lost yourself amongst the darkness of animosity?
Have you ever given into the darkness and accepted defeat?
I wish I could say that I haven’t, but that would be a lie.