Mind

Trying to explain mental health issues in a poem.

Anxiety is

Walking on a tightrope,

500 feet in the air,

With no harness to break your fall,

Or safety net to catch you.

And I know you're tired,

But you can't take a break.

And I know you're scared,

But you can't get off.

Someone removed the ladder,

A long time ago.

So you keep on balancing.

Some days you hold a steady foot

Fast on the quivering rope.

Other days, your foot slips,

Your stomach jumps through your mouth

And you're a second away from

Falling, 

Collapsing, 

Plummeting 

Below.

Depression is

Grabbing a felt tip pen

And scribbling a page 

In black.

It's fuzzy around the edges,

And looking at the world through darkened sunglasses

Permanently glued to your face.

Depression is 

Sinking into the floor,

Melting into the walls

Whilst faces around you grow fangs

And snarl at your attempt to 

Exist.

Living with both is

Sleepwalking through life

In an endless chase scene.

It's the world collapsing around you

Whilst you're drowning in quicksand,

Glued to the flytrap,

Trapped in the bear cage,

Unable to do anything but 

Watch,

And wait.

Reviews

[matrixmark]

Good piece on a subject which so very real for some. Someone close to me suffers from anxiety and your piece sums up what they must surely be feelig. To look on from the outside - with this peiece you have given me a look on the inside.

Kudos to you for putting this together with a lot of thought behind it.

Mark.