everything
is just so
relentlessly
everything
all of the
fucking time

it needs
to kindly
stop being
overwhelming
in its gritty
everythingness
just until
the bands
release and
cool air
can tickle
my uvula
a moment’s
silence to
straighten out
my stilted pulse
find my center
and just try
to remember
to breathe

an umbrella
in an earthquake
doing nothing
to shelter
from the
falling chunks
of manic debris

some days
everything just
becomes so
fucking much
relentlessly grating
all of the
fucking time