KidSpirit

Anxiety

Fear and AnxietyPoetry

I dive headfirst into the high tide;
an ocean of solitude where my contentment lies buried beneath the sands
Some nights, I can float
But these days it does not wait for me to count to three;
it does not ask me if I’m ready,
it does not inhale before it plunges me into the water.
It watches the salt water burn my throat and my legs give out.
It is the anchor tied to my ankle pulling me toward the oblivion
that waits at the bottom.
Some nights, I can keep my head above the surface.
I give myself reassurance that my limbs will learn how to wade through the depths of this desolation.
And some nights, I do succeed and make it to the shore.
But it is not a docile companion,
for it pounces in the dusk swiftly.
It latches its teeth into my skin and pulls me into the currents once again.

Mahnoor Murad Khan is a 17-year-old from Lahore, Pakistan. Currently in her first year of A Level, Mahnoor spends most of her time writing poetry, eating pizza, and complaining about being tired all the time. She was tired while writing this, too.

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Art by Jaden Flach, Brooklyn

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Art by Jaden Flach, Brooklyn