Swallowed Up

I fade into background,

little drops of molten ash,

timid roots tunneling

in tangled webs

trapping my feet.

I feel red ants

crawling in my lungs.

Flawed words tumble

into my belly,

struggling

to let my panic

escape,

wrapped in feelings

of being born

upside down.

Hidden between walls

I shrink

into black ocean

of shyness.