I can breathe,
But with each breath
Unease
Sweeps through

Guts twist and churn,
Conscious thrums the chest
Off beat
At every turn

When empty,
Hunger gnaws
With claws
That painfully feed

When bloated,
Even the rot of despair
Clots
To never weep

And when breathless,
Though gusts of air
Flail piteously

I can still breathe

I can always breathe

But the still in the air
Waylays the mind
Distills the spirits
Consumes the soul

Dreary dispassion
Threatens
To possess
The body whole

Eventually, it weaves
A frighteningly hypnotic trance
That grips the unwitting senses
In its maddeningly deathless dance

– Akanksha Gupta