Stopping

Step by step,
Inch by inch,
With every sudden noise,
I flinch,

I don't want to be caught,
When I'm so close to the end,
Not long now,
Until I pass the last bend,

I'm close to the finish,
I'm nearing the line,
I'm feeling great,
And doing just fine,

But something makes me stop,
I stop dead in the track,
Something tells me,
I have to go back,

So I turn around,
Back to the cold,
Back to where,
My secrets were told,

I'm freezing now,
And I'm lost,
I shouldn't have gone back,
Not at any cost,

So now I'll never finish,
I'll never win,
I can see my shadow,
With a big dark grin,

I was so close,
Now I'm so far behind,
The exit now,
I can not find,

So I'll sit in the dark,
Saying my last goodbye's,
Until everything, including me,
Stops and dies.