rotten

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today, I have a million things to do. 

I have to fold the clean laundry. 

I have to finish my homework. 

I have to leave and replace my groceries. 

    

what was once the ripe fresh fruits of my thoughts 

is now rotten and festering, 

forgotten in produce drawers, 

left to manifest as anxieties. 

    

the dread of confronting moldy produce 

is all-consuming in my thoughts. 

I have to take out the garbage 

after I purge the remnants of decay. 

    

do I have any old expired cans 

in my pantry that lurk unknown, 

insidious and lingering, 

to feed my anxiety and anguish? 

    

today I have a million things to do 

and they feel so overwhelming, 

like a tidal wave of weakness 

leaving me numb and paralyzed in fear.