Anxiety

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Serena King

 

I am chained to a child

A reflection of myself

Yanking and pulling at my wrists

Bite marks on my sleeves

Dripping down, burning red

Bruised and abused

Rug burns on my knees

Raggedy clothes

The child screaming and crying

Trying to run away

I yell at her to stop

Sacrificing my heart,

To not make her fear

It blazes like fire

The ash stains my hands

I rub if off on my white pants

All eyes on me

Their stares drive me to a cage

The child shrinks like plastic

Underneath the heated gaze

Listening to a lullaby

I close my eyes,

The waves crashing against the rocks

Salty water running down my cheeks

I hold their hand and say

It’s ok, you can go back to sleep

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Serena King is a junior. She writes, “I previously majored in Ecology but decided my heart sat more with Psychology and a minor in Creative Writing. I have always enjoyed creative writing and especially poetry throughout high school. I never considered myself a poet but someone who loves to convey my emotions through words. In Creative Writing: Poetry, with Joanna Fuhrman, I found myself loving the idea of poetry even more.”

This poem was written in Joanna Fuhrman’s poetry course, and Fuhrman selected it for inclusion in WHR.