A Letter to the Worst Part of Me

Dear Stress,

I spy you- folded in the pages of my textbook,

Trickling after me from behind every corner,

Tinkering in my daily thoughts,

Tickling my presence like clockwork.

tick, tick, tock

I feel you- gentle hum of a faraway car,

Clanking down the street after me,

Cruising past at a taunting speed,

Creating a gust that lurches me forward

But leaves me in the dust.

I forget you- moments of bliss,

Basking on a beach in a misty glow,

Burrowing under blankets; with a book,

Bathing in a lavender scented tub.

But Stress,

I thank you- for you came in waves,

Whispering one night, hiding the next,

Waning when it came to be too much,

Wandering off to give me a piece of solitude.

I see others,

trapped in your choking embrace

compressed by your perfect expectations

buried under you

But I-

I am,

winning.