Thought Experiment

Total darkness
Eyes opened or closed there is nothing but black
	Everywhere

Hairs and nerve endings stretched to the limit
	Feeling nothing 
no clothing
no temperature
no moisture
Utterly weightless

Ears ring with complete silence
	Heart pounding unheard
	Exhale – inhale not even a hush
Panicked thoughts scream

Where am I? 
How long have I been here?
Time alternately races and plods on

An unseen floor presses against tense feet
	Or do tense feet press against an unseen floor
Coarse wooden fibers prick tender soles
Pressure up or is it down creates the sensation of standing
	Like on the bottom of a swimming pool
	Fleeting contact that takes effort to maintain
	Except now there is nothing to push against to preserve the connection


The pressure increases against feet tingling with sensation
	Causing relaxed legs to bend slightly at the knee and ankle
	As if sitting in an imaginary chair
	
Thigh and calf muscles strain against the rapidly increasing force of the floor
	Core muscles flex for balance
	Arms and shoulders tighten searching for support in pitch black emptiness
	A drop of sweat begins to tickle down the left armpit
Copyright © | Year Posted 2015

Poem

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