Sleight of Hand

It looks solid as steel
I reach out, but I cannot feel
A diminished web of inky threads
Sweeping a hand across, its now shreds
Stability was hard earned and lost
You were happy for a bit but at what cost?

A temporary high with a new type of drug
Started as an experiment, but now there's a stronger tug
Luxury in a cell by which there's no deviation
There was a locked door but that's just an illusion
Few have the affluence of ignorance that you do
You act like you're so wise, but you're really just new
Trying to be an adult, going beyond set limits
Disappointments digging in like rivets
Delusions of a utopia that will never be
Lost in a locked corridor; do you have the key?

The weakest part of the uniform phalanx
Where did the foot fall and slip on the river banks?
Dark mud lashing to trap you in its grip
The fabric of your life torn with an unsatisfactory rip

A helpful arm dunking in to help you up
Saving you from the ominous flux of the corrupt
Although you felt the harsh river needles of cold
And the lost friendly hand of old
tis all just an illusion; a sleight of mind
You touch your face; its now age-lined
Looking around at a cell that you directed the construction
Realizing this former sanctuary is your own destruction

And suddenly a door appears!
You face is wet with relieved tears
Shakily you test the door knob with your hand
Your heartbeat in your ears thumping like a band
Feeling more free from life's endless demands,
Opening the door to see gilded sands
With a joyful shout, jumping on the beach
Life seems like a delicious fuzzy peach

Waiting, just waiting for someone to take a bite
...But have you really finished this fight?