They crowd my mind.
They don't go away.
Staying there forever.
'Please, PLEASE!' I pray.

My mouth can't move.
My eyes fill up.
When someone asks 'What's wrong?'
The mind screams  - 'I'VE HAD ENOUGH!'

Yet, I sit in silence.
No words come out.
I clam up
And my heart starts to pound...

Like a horse running as fast as it can
or a train or a bus or a car
Hurtling down the highway,
Or like a fox being chased and the panic that ensues.

The panic, The beats, The pulses -
They pound in my head
And then it plummets like a bundle of lead,
Clattering against my ribs and landing in my stomach.

'Nothing', I say
'I'm fine', I say
'Okay,' they say and walk away.
Alone again and the tears roll out.
No barriers.
No dams.
Just rivers of salt down a stained face.