revised:

between the time of two heartbeats...

a fraction of her finger feels
the cool, clean circumference
of the bottomless lake.
unfolding she dares her feet
to take a step blindly
into the brim of the basin.
her pale flesh
is slowly, easily overtaken
by the fluid, rhythmic flow
of charcoal.

the majestic movement of the water
orchestrates an opus on her
scarred and pointy knees.
against her protruding ribs.
over her delicate shoulders.
and into her cluttered mind.
a murmured spell is magically cast...

down.
darker.
down.

the thickness presses in.
suffocatingly resonating within.
a hazy muteness tempts
an eternal disappearance...

down.
darker.
down.

all dilemmas drowned out.
her resistance weakened by
this dark, ethereal world.
of surreal serenity.
of solitary security...

down.
darker.
down.

completely adrift.
suspended in a distracted daze.
a stupoured trance.
a raptured reverie...

down.

yet a faint sound swiftly sails through
to reverberate on the drum of her ear.
recalling a dim echoing of a yesterday songbird.
sending her thoughts
to the infinitely endless sky...

down.

pockets of air
race past her face.
as precious life
from her lungs
so fleetly escapes...

drown.

as if awoken
from an enchanting death.
from a spell of sleep...

she rises.
higher.
she rises.

breathless.
wide, desperate eyes
transfixed upon the stars
seen beyond the glossy coverlet.
her fists fight the film
to feel the air...

she rises.
higher.
she rises.

fingertips unfurl
and frantically fix fast
to the moon...

higher.

a poignant, melodic force
an orchestrated symphony of sound
builds to a grand finale...

higher.

she shoots through the surface
in the last still seconds
escaping death's domain...

higher.

a glorious note of life
inflates her lungs.
her mind.
her heart...

she rises.

(and a songbird sweetly sings.)