Invisible Chains; a poem

Dawn breaks, the world pulses
to life around me as I falter,
a familiar rhythm, now a distant hum,
slipping through my fingers like water.

Wrestling with invisible chains,
simple pursuits; left bruised and scathed,
this body, once a vessel of strength,
has become a fortress of torment.

Some call us warriors, but we’ve been enlisted
to fight battles unseen from the confines of flesh.
Inside my chest there is a lotus,
reaching for light from muddy depths