It pounds through

My bloodstream

Paralyzing

And choking

I can't see

Anymore

What's important

It sits in the back

Waiting for me

To notice

But I'm stuck 

At the front

Amid blaring

And blazing lights

In my spot

And here I thought

I could beat it

I could stamp it out

Because fear

Is my enemy

And I won't let it win

I don't know

The words anymore

They flutter and fly

They wither and die

In my fingers

They stop suddenly

As if stopped

In their tracks

They freeze

And then burst

In a shower 

Of ashes

That taste dry

And sweet

On my paper tongue

And I panic

I toss them

Again and over

I press them

To my heart

Willing them to live

But they lie lifeless

And I stare blankly

Before crumbling

And shaking

Crashing

And trembling

To the floor I go

Begging them to

Come back

To breathe

To dance on the lines

To jump from my pen

To stay once more

To pump my feelings

To my surroundings

To color the black

And white world

That I'm trapped in

But they shiver

At last

And I weep with

Relief

At the sickening

And intoxicating

Feeling

Of having poisoned

My words

As a result of

Feeling too much

And yet saying too

Little.