The world gets quieter.
It gets darker.
The hot, salty tears sting my eyes and burn my cheeks.
What is going on?
Am I dying…?
I start to choke.
My lungs shrink, pleading for one more breath.
I am desperate to scream.
But it feels as if someone has stolen my voice.
I am disoriented.
I don’t know what’s up or down or left or right.
Everything is spinning around me.
I cannot think.
My thoughts are fuzzy and lost.
My blood burns as if lava courses through my veins,
Yet I shake as if I were plunged into a freezing ocean.
I am drowning.
I sink deeper and deeper.
The pressure crushes my chest.
My hearts pounds like a war drum.
I am at war.
This is one of my daily battles.

But how do I achieve victory?
I am losing.
I am running out of strategies…

I saw it coming a mile away.
I knew it wouldn’t end well,
But I didn’t bother avoiding the wreck.
I only stood in shock,
Engulfed by euphoria,
Feeling as light as a feather.
I was flying
In a warm sunny sky.
And then bam!
Ringing.
Discombobulation.
Searing pain.
And in an instant I felt like I was dying.
Of course I didn’t.
Even after these long months,
My wounds have not fully healed.
And even when they do,
I will be scarred.
This is love.