a shadow creeps in uninvited,
settling behind my ribs,
a weight I cannot name.
It hums in the silence,
fills my lungs with static,
turns my thoughts into tangles
I can't pull apart.
My hands shake with it,
as if they can tremble
the fear away—
but it clings tighter.
There is no reason,
no warning,
only the feeling that
everything is too much.
My heart races against the clock,
though time stands still.
I am trapped in this cage
made of my own mind.
And still, the world moves on
while I fight to catch a breath
that doesn't come
so easily anymore.
