Branches in drying, reaching out in despair,
Instincts of survival, beyond compare,
The last source of water, a gamble for life's sake,
As its fading means the end, all stakes.

Hope wanes, surrender beckons with ease,
Yet the inner fight, it refuses to cease,
I feel control slipping, not in my hands to wield,
A force commands, urging life's battlefield.

In this strength, I drift from others apart,
The inflicted pain swells, like a sharp dart,
My world crumbles, shattered by love's trust,
Leaving me broken, ashes and dust.