because it feels safer to quote someone else's thoughts than to try to tell you my own

Whirlwind

by Natalie Neiman

Slowly, it catches you off guard and knocks you

off your feet and you

are sucked up by a huge funnel and security

and safety are

whipped out from under you and the

wind beats

against your weary body and you want sure

footing but instead you spin through

the air with your arms and legs flailing

about wildly and fear has eaten a hole

through your heart and it is ripped and

trickling and you want to scream but

the sound is crammed in your

stomach and you can't figure out why

or how this is happening all you know is

that you want to go home and crawl

into bed and never get out

and the world is spinning

and everything you touch

melts away and everything

is moving so fast and

your brain can't keep

up and you spin

and spin until you

end up at the

bottom.

And you wish you could live again.