Ringing

The ringing in my ears
terrifies me;
I hear it as a cry of death,
that all must soon heed.

Whenever I hear it,
my mind sways and
my heart gives in;
I stumble into black peril,
sweat burning against
the fading feeling
of my own skin.

I dread the ringing;
It is the sound
of blood and needles:

And I've settled my debt with cancer,
and I've knocked upon death's door,
and the ringing in my ears
is terrible and timorous,
and I want to hear no more.