Stress and Anxiety

I turned on the TV

And the news was on,

Ranting about all the current issues

That we care so much and so little about-

All it caused was stress and anxiety within me.

So I turned it off

 

My mom baked cookies today-

And not just a batch,

A total of three batches!

And though I wanted more,

The idea of me gaining more weight-

Caused stress and anxiety within me

So I only ate three

And ignored the rest

 

I had so much work to do-

Endless mounds of homework and projects

Given by teachers that expect us to

Work until we collapse-

Evicted so much stress and anxiety

That I put the work away and procrastinated

Until it could no longer be avoided

 

I set ablaze my two favorite candles

To quell the stress and anxiety

That was throbbing in my mind

Until it became a dull pain

Behind my eyelids that I could ignore until it went away.

 

I recalled my favorite memory that never was

About a person I never saw

And lips that never met

Because no matter how sad those nevers were,

It gave me hope;

I could dwell on those thoughts

Until the rock of stress and anxiety that was crushing me shrunk

Into a manageable pebble that could be stored away

Until I could properly deal with it.

 

I buried my head into my favorite pillow

With my lovely cat purring in my ears next to me

Lulling me to sleep with its soft praises of adoration

Until that consciousness of stress and anxiety

Slipped away in the darkness of sleep

So that when I wake up,

The stress and anxiety will still be lost within the darkness-

And I can be happy again.