anxiety
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Zukunft
Exfoliating and sweatingAll down your days.Leaving remnantsOf yourself in every space you inhabit.A marker for a historyThat won’t remember. What do you do thatLingers and witnesses like an oak?What will the future sayAbout you and me? © 2023 Jeff E. Brown. All rights reserved.
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The Walls Are Deaf, But They Know What You’re Thinking
The one thing you have in abundance in a mental hospital is time. Time to think. An omnipresent clock in the common room to remind you of all of the time left until the next group activity for you to sit and think. Always time to think, which isn’t good for nearly every single beaten…
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The Dirty Work
You can throw all of the pills down the drain. It makes for a moment of defiance, of clarity. But does it change the underlying cause? Do you have a plan beyond turning on the disposal and feeling a bit better about yourself? Because now the hardest part comes in: talking about the dread and…
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What the Night Takes
As night descends, I wonder what it will take me from this time. Dreams unfold into lucid nightmares where I’m rebuked for my crimes, both real and imagined. I am so drained, but I retain my anxious core as I push back sleep. Of course, I will lose. The question is: how much? © 2022…
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Crackling
There is a crackling sound, over there, don’t you hear it? The cars scream by, but it’s still there. A consistent noise I can no longer run away from, then it fades out to silence with the dusk. I have to know what it is. Why it follows me all day long © 2022 Jeff…
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A Different You
There’s a warring dichotomy in my head. My mind is so conflicted from moment to moment, I can’t be sure if I need meds or if this is just how I’ll always be. Do others feel like they don’t know themselves? Feel like they can’t trust themselves? © 2022 Jeff E. Brown. All rights reserved.
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Clamor
The clamoring in your headGoes away as you walkFurther and further from the source.Soon you can rest, released from the dread. © 2022 Jeff E. Brown. All rights reserved.
Writing and Photography by Jeff E. Brown 