Anxiety

A thick wall of grey clouds lined with black

Ragged fingernails chewed to the quick

A loudly ticking clock in a silent room

Do you smell that? Is something burning?

That girl looks at you from afar and starts laughing.

Your dad is angry; he's shouting and cursing

while you lie awake in your dark bedroom.

The rumbling of thunder in the distance

Stuck in the middle of the intersection when the light turns red,

a chorus of angry horns blaring behind you

Your dog sneaks up behind you and suddenly barks

A slamming sound in your house when you’re alone at night

Your boss wants to know if the project is finished,

but you forgot to do it; you never started it.

A phone call at two in the morning

A blood test for a life-threatening illness:

we’ll have your results in about a week to ten days.

The squealing of a dentist’s drill

The feeling of falling in your dreams,

then opening your eyes, realizing it’s too late.

You missed it.