Panic Attack

You leave the safety of your front gate and enter into fear. The early morning quiet magnifies your every movement into a noise - footsteps, breath, the sound of arms scraping against a coat. You don't want to be heard. There is nothing to hold onto in this ocean of streets, houses and motorcars. The world is bottomless and beneath your feet there is terror. You are now too far out. You try and hold your breath as you begin to feel the panic grip. The mind thrashes in a pointless effort to surface but you are too deep. A scream gets stuck in your throat. Somehow you survive, get washed up feeling wrung out and alone on the shores of yourself. Beached between guilt and shame, you hide in that familiar place you keep coming back to, time and time again.