I wake up chocking
on nothing
air still in the room
But none of it is reaching me
like my body forgot
How to be alive
while I was asleep
My heart is violent
pounding against bone
like its trying to escape me
like it knows something
I don\'t
the dark feels closer
than it should
pressing in
listening
waiting
and theres no reason
no nightmares to blame
no sound in the house
no danger I can name
just this feeling
that something is wrong
that something is coming
that I am not safe
inside my own skin
I sit there gasping
counting breaths
that won\'t slow down
trying to convince
a body
that does not believe me
You\'re okay
i say it over and over
like a lie
im hoping will turn true
because if this isnt real
why does it feel like
im dying
in a quiet room
where nothing is happening
time stretches
seconds, minutes, hours drag
like they\'re watching me
fight something
no one else can see
and eventually it loosens
just enough to let me breath again
but it leaves something behind
a shadow
a warning
a quiet knowing
that even sleep isnt
safe anymore