i can feel
my heartbeat
in my left
earlobe
a jittering
little spasm
a stray hair
i can’t manage
to brush away
a quivering
little feeling
as my heart
hammers away
at xylophonic
shivering ribs

it is quite
intermittent
as i sit
shaking from
anxious energy
and i rub
my fingers
across my ear
absently as
the story spills
itself onto
the screen in
my cavernous skull

an ant scurrying
in staticy jerks
as my earring
vibrates along
with the mania
convulsing across
every bare nerve
i can feel
my heartbeat
throbbing through
my left earlobe
a stuttering
palpation slowly
driving me insane
as i try to
corral the madness
in my every
shallow breath