Anxiety's Monsters

I feel unsettled inside

Like it’s something I can’t hide.

Surely back my face will peel

And black mold will reveal

That I’m rotting under skin,

Eroding from within.

Help, help, I cry

Or at least I try.

But bubbles escape

When my mouth is agape.

They burst full of acid.

I’m feeling quite rancid

As my throat and lips burn

When to speak it’s my turn.

Ugly things crawl within

Writhing just under skin.

They peak from my hair

Whisper “Who’s there?”

Into my ear deep in the dark

Hoping in me to ignite a spark

Of fear so vast it’s boiling

Over the rims and roiling.

And I scream and scream

To self-wake from this dream,

But alas I am still fogged in pillows

The smoke alarm silent in the billows

Of choking smoke and fright

That returns to haunt my night.

After night, after day

This dark will stay.

And it’s all just beneath a smile

All these things nasty and vile.

The office is calm, the home clean

So here I set, unsettled, unseen.