“Cure”

I close my eyes,

taking deep breaths in and out, in and out from what just happened,

pushing back the emotions,

I inject it.

They don’t understand the pressure,

the stuck feeling,

the preceding community wonders what goes through my head,

the youthful think everything is solid, fine, merry,

but they will be in my spot sooner than expected,

I inject it.

Others can’t see,

Others can’t hear,

They just wonder what’s happening,

I inject it.

I feel it go through my body calming everything it touches,

the rhythms and harmonies tranquilize the uneasy feelings that run through,

the different categories affect differently, playing with my feelings,

The beat that massages my bones intertwines with the beat of my heart,

all the thoughts in the back of my head disappear,

I inject it.

I need more of this cure,

the volume escalates in the headphones,

the amount continues to grow while the outside world continues to die out,

I inject it.

My head tilts back in consent,

I fall into the depths of the device that produces the serenity,

I let it surround me while I doze into the relaxation of the imagination of my dreams,

I inject it.

-Catherine Owens, ’19