The Box

Thump
thud
Thump
thud
Thump
thud

Doors nailed shut,
my 5 x 8 wooden box
is complete
with me in it,
extra thick planks
muffling sound.

I'm safe.

Am I?

Nothing can come in,
but I can't get out,
and all my insecurities are
in here with me.
They zip around me
like maniacal NASCAR drivers
who've had too much to drink.

I deserved it.

It was my fault.

I'm worthless.

They spill over each other
in a rush to judgment
rivaling the most
ambitious prosecutor
bribing the judge
for a decision.

Guilty!

Punishment
to be determined.

So I failed.
Here in my secluded spot,
with the world kept out,
I was kept in with
the most dangerous person
I know...
me.

Now everything spins
in a dizzying display of power
in the dark.
I hear the wind

Whoosh

and the wood

Creak

but my box holds,
its strength far superior
to my own,
which has found me
curled up tightly
in the fetal position.

Breath,
shaky as it comes in,
lost as it goes out.

Life will never
get better.

There's no point in trying.

Whatever comes next
is justified.

Captive
in my cage...

Punishment to be determined.