Outside the Norm

A poem about social anxiety.

Jesse

Feb. 18, 2021, 3:18 p.m.

You are talking, but I can’t hear you;

I don’t even feel near you.

My jaw is locked, palms are sweating,

and that’s what scares me.

It’s just a conversation, but I can’t breathe.

I’m waiting on a reprieve

that’s never come,

an excuse to hide,

a reason to run.

I’m alone, and I can feel it,

on the edge, looking in,

waiting to be let in.