against the current

I wake up, and the world feels heavy, like every step I take is uphill, like the air fights me just for breathing. Everything I want slips through my fingers— dreams crumbling, hopes fading like whispers in a storm I can't outrun. The plans I made fall apart like paper, drenched in the rain of things I can’t control. The harder I try, the further I feel, like the universe is playing a game with rules I never got to learn. I reach out, and the walls close in, pushing back when all I need is space, shutting down when all I want is a chance to feel like maybe I can win, like maybe I belong. But no—nothing bends, nothing shifts, and I’m left here fighting the tide, trying to stand, trying to breathe, as everything falls apart, piece by piece.