Light starting to fade,
Flashlight batteries on low.
Feet planted on slanted surface,
With no friction below.

I still recall my direction,
But have been spun around.
Handrails rusted off,
Faint echoes my only sound.

Need my compass direction,
So when the lights go out,
My auto navigation,
Can guide me about.

This really isn't new,
So I am not scared.
Having prior knowledge
Is what keeps me prepared.

I use to get afraid
When these bouts first started.
My mind and senses numb,
Reality had departed

I would fret and stress
And lose things on the way.
Was afraid to take a step,
But more afraid to stay.

After several times through the maze,
I finally got use to the game.
Nervous each time it happened,
Yet I always came out just the same.

Like they always say,
Its darkest before the dawn.
The lights would come back quicker,
Than the slow dim before they were gone.

What really worried me,
Are the things that I would lose.
Unknowing of what they were,
Were they things I needed to use?

When these bouts were over,
I always returned to my self.
Just another scary movie trophy,
That I would display on my shelf.

Looking back through the times,
I always came out stronger.
I like the mental acquisitions.
But can I do this much longer?

Though I'm getting better,
And no longer fear the dark.
Experience gains are priceless.
The ordeal always leaves a mark.

The first times I was lucky,
To come out completely unscathed.
But for some that don't know the spiral,
They will slowly become enslaved.

These things will always continue.
So mentally be on your guard.
Take notice of the first signs,
Or it can hit you very hard.
 
Just remember the darkness ends,
And you will not always be lost.
The struggle is not with you,
So trudge on through the darkness at all cost.