Calloused hands groping at my neck,
They scratch and strangle,
And I know it’s back again.

Lungs burn from lack of breath
From a fire unquenchable and persistent
That’s ripping though my chest.

Panic sews me to the spot,
And the air becomes so heavy,
That it takes all my might to inhale.

I cannot escape the feeling
Which burrows deep inside my bones.
The fear has returned once more.

n.b.