a little cavity opens up

it sits square in my solar plexus,

inside this bony chamber

it is so thick with anxiety

a person could swim through it

or maybe drown in it.

 

I know that I have placed

one foot in front of the other

for all the days that have existed

 

for me and yet

I freeze, looking down—startled

at these long fingered termini

at the ends of my legs

and wonder how I’ll ever reach

my destination.