March 6, 2026
Elexis Johnson
In my chest there is a wild animal
Its restless like a bird caught in a storm
Pacing at my floor of my rib-cage
The claws are made of questions
With sharpened with of doubt
Waking before me
Sensing danger even when there is none
Ears ringing at the slightest random noise
They know the sound of fear
The way a wolf knows the scent of snow
All day it roams
Running around the softest parts of me
At the mistakes that ive thought ive made
But never did
It jumps at me in silence
As if quiet itself is a threat
Sometimes it collapses
Trembling under weight
Of everything i may have don and said wrong
With every path I didn't take
Every version of me
That could have been better or not existed
I try to calm it
Slow breaths, soft hands
With a reminder that the world
Is not alway a forest of teeth
But feat is a creature
That speaks with my instincts
Not logic
But i still keep trying
Opening the door of fear a little wider
Letting the light slip in
Letting the air shift
Letting the world prove to me that it is gentle
Taking it one small moment at a time
So maybe one day
The wildness in my chest
Will unclench its jaw
Will trust the quietness
Will learn that every rustle
Means run
Not every shadow that appears
Means its dangerous
Not every heartbeat
Is a warning
So maybe one day
It will stand beside me
Tall and proud and slow breathing
No longer being a threat
But it will be a reminder
That all the wild parts of me
Are only trying to keep me alive
– E. J.