my skin is prickling harshly around my neck
i can't touch or the prickling will turn to flames,
red streaks that highlight my skin like burn marks.

my chest is tight like my heart is the puppeteer of my ribs,
yanking the strings closer and closer until my lungs are being crushed
and suddenly i cannot breathe.

i'm being swallowed by a phantom pain and oh,
how it aches--
how it aches.

my muscles tense, ready to run
but i'm frozen as that disgusting churning swirling grabbing sensation
takes hold of my equilibrium and twists--

suddenly i cannot hear.
all that exists is a still portrait of the room i sit in,
cluttered but otherwise peaceful.

my arms tingle like something invisible is crawling up them
and the air feels like trying to breathe rocks.
my heart pulls harder on the strings,
tying a knot on the right side of my chest to keep everything pulled tight.

it aches.