laughing as you cut your fried something at the head of the table
laughing
all the way downstairs

fear
innate and crawling
it knows me
it seeps in and out of my pores with everything inside of my body
it climbs out of my ears
anchors my shoulders and
weighs me down,
inevitably pulling me back
inevitably keeping me inside
inevitably ignoring me

i am a slave to my own body