Anxiety's Agonies Poem by Thomas McKelvey

When I notice anxiety in my body, I feel...
like there's a bee bouncing around inside my chest, an agitated, stinging presence, keeping me from rest.
My arms are stiff fibers of grain, beaten and useless, on the threshing floor.
My mouth becomes filled with cotton and my head swims in the ether, drowning me in fear.
I feel the need to run, headlong into the very back of the closet, hiding behind the winter coats and old sweaters,
Hiding behind the saved wrapping paper and special ribbons, dusty with disuse.
Hiding from my own distorted mirror, my worst imagined outcomes ringing in my ears.
My mind is so far ahead of my body, creating new terrifying monsters that stalk me, casting shadows under the door.
I am breathless and suffocating, from my own hand covering my mouth, afraid to be found.
My eyes grow wide, like cratered moons, staring at the noise of a thousand, teeth filled maws of fantastical beasts.