Yearning
This is a “Poem of the Day” feature piece
The cacti budding beneath my skin Never let me rest Their prickly stems poke me everywhere A hum so consistent it registers as a second heartbeat I have built a sturdy home around the source of it For the nerves to go and buzz When they are bursting against the walls Itching for release Through my arms breaking under the pressure of defiance Wishing/ waiting for an out Somewhere to put this angst Unsheathe my urgent body From this cage-like harness I’ve been craving the purge Of tension and adrenaline Driven my feet into the ground with anticipation The muscles in my legs ache I want to run out of my skin Beat new paths into the earth In desperation and relentless searches For freedom and deliverance from The shackles of a breathless panic I am riddled with flesh touched by fire And I am yearning for relief
© Ama Akoto (2018)