Allergic Reaction

Oula Miqbel

Take a deep breath in / Then close your eyes.

That pounding in your chest / Ignore it.

Focus only on what you see in this room / Pretend you don’t feel that sharp pain that comes with this soul-shattering moment.

Before the panic sets in and the nervousness rips itself loose / Like a hot itch beneath your skin.

That buzzing in your brain that becomes electric / The intensity of the sound drowns out your own voice.

All rationality / Rolls itself into deliberate insecurity and anxiety sets in.

Like water washing over your body / This emotion drowns you.

Your cheeks become hot / Flush with feeling.

Every inch of you begins to tingle / Like your body’s having an allergic reaction to fear.

But there is no epi-pen to prick yourself with / Try to hyperventilate in peace.

But you feel it / Everything.

Mind racing / Self-deprecation

All at once / A lifetime rushes past.

And then / Nothing.

There is no cure for your suffering / Just put on a brave face.