Fight Flight Freeze

by Olivia Best

My shirt claws into the back of my neck
and my pants pinch at my waist,
folding and creasing the skin.

Invisible spiders crawl into my ears
and the glasses I always wear
are suddenly touching my face.

Voices scurry by behind my back
and missiles keep sliding past me,
and I’m wearing my skin

and it’s stuck to me with sweat
that came from whoknowswhere,
and I’m allergic to air and can anyone see
that I’m dying to breathe here and if I just
HOLD
STILL

will it stop?