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Ena Edmonds, ’24. Poetry.

I open my eyes.

I am in the open ocean.

I can swim, sure, but

I am not scared of drowning.

I look down, into the murky void below me.

I begin to panic.

I fear what is down there, a stingray? a whale? something even worse?

I fear what I am at the mercy of.

I look around for safe ground, a boat maybe, but

I see nothing but an open ocean stretching to meet the sky.

I panic more.

I kick my legs faster, fearing increasingly  what

I could possibly be grabbed by or maybe what

I could be stung or bitten by trying so desperately to  swim up into the air   out of thewater.

    I begin tobecome so struck withfear that

I canbarelymove or thinkina straightline.

Ipanicmore     as

I feeladrenalineparalyzing mybodyandmyheadbeginningtodipbelowthe-

I wake up in a dark, warm room.

I was turned face down in my pillow, suffocating, hence my sudden dream panic.

I turn back to my side.

I close my eyes.