The world
has become withered
& I feel myself
faltering as well.
Numbness infiltrates me
as numbers rise
and we
begin
to
fall
At home,
I sit,
nose pressed to glass
watching as the world wilts away
& I am left
feeling helpless
& distant
& restless.
Each time I leave
my temporary prison,
I wear cloth
tight across my face,
hoping this invisible creature
won’t sneak in
& steal away with
my essence.
Or worse,
cling to me silently,
only to slither to another
when it sees fit,
mercilessly destroying many
it its wake.
The world has
become
exhausting.
I no longer want to see
people fading away
& those above privileged enough
to choose not to help.
I just want
this nightmare
to dissolve.
Bonnie Shinn
Bonnie Shinn is a resident of New Hampshire and studies as an MFA student in New England College’s Creative Writing program. She focuses her studies on both poetry and fiction, finding comfort in expanding on her feelings on femininity, mental health, and dystopian worlds.