. Going Down The Tubes. By Ross E F Lombardi . The pipes are leaking The relentlessly hungry drain in gapping The fingers are clawing, At the edges of this greasy sink . I am sliding. . Everything I do is just a distraction. Bubble gum, tape and oil to patch the problem. But even as I fight to jerry fix this blue smoking engine I know, that eventually it will inevitably fail. As the plug hole gurgles and pulls me down. . I struggle to keep going. I go down flailing wildly - with unreal smiles and puns. I try my hardest to move forward Yet fighting to just stay Still - and yet Still failing. Knowing I can never win, - I keep holding on anyway. . This cannot be done This is impossible to do My fingers ache, the happy mask slips, I lose a few more precious inches - as a dry tear is privately shed. The drain sucking at my scrambling feet. - "why do I keep fighting this??" . All I have are delaying actions The temporary solutions, - is all I got. I'm running out of gum I'm...