The clock ticks on,
Its steady rhythm echoing within my ringing ears,
Reminding me of the impending doom drenching my heart,
As the gnawing claws tear me apart from within,
The ground seems to evaporate from beneath my trembling limbs,
Threatening to swallow up my very existence.

Watering eyes and hitched pants send me into a spiralling frenzy,
The deafening voices from within rival my muffled screams,
I wish to break open, I wish to be free,
Begging for redemption from the suffocation that fills me.

Hurried steps; flailing arms; collapsing whimpers; endless throbbing
They all seem to blend together into a disastrous symphony,
Shutting out the words of concern, panic and jeering that envelope my surroundings,
Ignoring pounding doors and worried calls,
Crumbling into a pathetic mess of hopelessness and hate,
I shriek out, palpitations jerking my entire being.

As everything seems to stop and melt away,
As the voices cease and the lights blur out,
The familiar chiming numbs all feelings and emotions as I continue to drown,
The clock ticks away, as slow as ever,
The clock ticks on.