I've been hit by a wave of helplessness
A feeling of imminent something
that's about to happen
I see it most, clouded in red, when I'm in my room faced with a mountain of "not done yet"
I feel it most when on scales, unevenly balanced and soon to tip
Stay? Go?
Hold on? Let go?
I'm with it most when I see the boxes spilling from every corner of my life
Memories screaming dont leave me
Don't leave me
I live it most when tearing down photos, ripping down paintings,
giving away keepsakes
I taste it in the air when I'm driving with the windows down,
Wind roaring at me, children's rhymes taunting
I can smell it in the foods I eat,
the restaurants I might never see again
I hear it loudest in the words I speak, goodbyes all waiting at the back of my tongue
Yet shy of hellos still to come
I live it when I pack my bags,
zip and unzip my suitcases
I am tortured by it while I consolidate my life down into a single box
A feeling
A valley
A sinking, dreaded chasm
I'm standing on the edge
Of unfinished business