Tried by Ordeal

Existence is drudgery, a sentence of pain
 Sentience is a curse animate with grief
 I am like a slave who pants for the shadows
 I am the servant longing for rest
 Each day lingers interminably
 Every night, I endure without pause
 When I lie down, I long for morning
 When I get up, I yearn for evening
 All the day, I toss and turn
 Seized unawares from out of reverie
 My flesh crawls with maggots
 My skin splits and oozes
 Youth passed me in a moment
 Strength melted like morning's mist
 If I long for sleep's oblivion and lie down to ease my suffering
 Then you terrify me with visions
 Your nightmare chokes me with terror
 I wake gasping for breath
 Life is but a sigh
 A cloud dissipated by noon's heat
 To dissolve into death
 Who am I to draw your ire?
 Your gaze fixed to betray my flaws?
 Examining every instance
 Condemning each failure
 Won't you spare me time even to swallow my spit?
 Pitiless accuser, show yourself