My mind reels back to that moment
When fear's icy grip took hold
A sudden trembling seized my frame
My whole being testified to the panic's claim

I grasped the microphone, a disaster unfolding
My words, a jumbled mess, or so it seemed
Was I speaking or mumbling? I couldn't tell
My mind, a maze of self-doubt, a trickster's spell

In that intense moment, I wished to be
Glued to my seat, silent and free
No care to speak, no need to face
The fear that gripped me, a suffocating space