Stephanie Allen Crist

Bellows of fog roll across my mind,
swirling, gusting wavy sheets of gray,
swooping up my thoughts like leaves,
blowing each and every one away.

Pain arcs across my abdomen,
burrowing through my core,
gnawing at my bones and joints,
long after I can’t take any more.

I claw for purchase, my fists
clinging to my curls like snakes,
hissing and striking at my face,
sinking deep enough to escape.