Panicked Thoughts Roam - A Sonnet

• Lily Mulcahy, Grade 9
• Poetry
• 2022

My body is compacting, convulsing,
Crushing white ivory carefully honed.
Amygdala starts rapidly pulsing,
Reason for panic forgotten, condoned.
It lasts for so long and always comes back.
Difficulty to return attention,
The struggle to cope, taking up the slack.
Together with co-existent tension.
Choking on the angst in the atmosphere,
Detachment, the world seems so surreal.
The heart is palpitating in this fear,
Insomnia is less than ideal.
Lung capacity shrinks from ten to one,
Feeling of numbness, tingling sensation.
Control over my body? I have none.
I can’t spare breath for communication.
The lights are off, but I promise, I’m home.
Return when panicked thoughts no longer roam.