Untitled

By M, 14, New Jersey

My anxiety leaks from my heart
down into my pen
and I read it aloud as I write away my feelings.

Does it make me feel better being dramatic?
Does it make me feel happy knowing I've let my anxiety absorb into someone else?

Yes.
Because then the anxiety isn't with me
And that's all that matters in a selfish world.

But the glimmer of hope that I can reach another trembling mind with my words makes my hand cramp up and leaves me with insomnia.

Shark

By Annie, 16, United Kingdom

Like a shark
attacking unexpectedly
Yet with
precision accuracy
Tears not at my body
but at my soul
I bleed not on the outside
but from within
My mind loses control
thoughts race through my head
as it presses on
Fear, panic, terror
surge through my very veins
Slowly, slowly, slowly
my breath is pulled away
It's so difficult to breathe
my voice has disappeared
I can barely think
It is my curse
I live with it each day
Relentlessly it attacks
leaving me lonely, helpless and afraid,
The pain, the confusion
never seem to go away
No matter what I do
this shark is here to stay