Worries, stresses, unfettered,

Nerves, blush flushes, untempered.

Heat nicks my pins

Travelling toe to head,

Rushing water in a sinking ship,

It fills me up with dread.

 

Waking from a sleep,

My companion is on its feet.

I’m catching breath on ragged mesh

Tight wound, its marks impressed.

 

We’ve halted in the tunnel,

There’s no info and no signal

The doors are locked, the air gets hot,

And I envy all the couples.

 

 

If this chain reaction flies in full –

It’s the captor, it makes the rules.

 

Crouch down in corner,

Find out here it’s cooler,

Put my mind to work

And mine it for all its worth.

Eyes clamp shut

In myself I trust.

Paint across the conjured canvas,

Place my panic far at bay

Picture the fear flowing,

Hastily away.

 

These ancient mechanisms

Our in built defences

Go too far, strive too hard,

In their attempts to save us.

 

EMC