Backseat Struggles



Stuck
I'm stuck in this large
Metal box
Wedged between my siblings 
My siblings
Who are screaming
And coughing
And sneezing
And sucking in all the oxygen 
Leaving little for me
It starts feeling harder to breathe 
As I think about it
I feel suffocated
As I imagine my family 
Breathing all the air 
And coughing it back out 
But I can't breathe 
It's to stuffy
There are too many blankets, Smothering me
Too many fluffy toys, Sickly soft
Too many open mouths 
Breathing in the precious air 
My air
Finally I yell
"Open a window!"
And as the fresh 
Cold
Sweet
Oxygen
Fills my sore lungs  
I can breathe again. 


 

Inkpaw

VT

17 years old

More by Inkpaw

  • The Boxes In The Corner

    Looming over your shoulders

    Each stack higher than its former

    Every thought and every scrap

    Of an idea too scared to ponder

     

    Every moment that hurt

    Each minute that lingered longer

  • Inadequacy


    How do I push the words out
    From behind my taffy tongue 
    Thick with salty tears 
    And full of grubby thumb 


    I’m a child 
    Pretending that I’m numb 
    To escape the overwhelming feelings 

  • Paper Frogs

    Why

    When feet fall soft but quick 

    Does the hallway extend

    And the hot breath of whoever’s behind me feel hotter 

    Why do I stay pressed to the wall 

    Like a stubborn gruby sticker