Thirteen ways of looking at intrusive thoughts

Day 13 of The Seal: A 30-Day Micro-Memoir Series

I

They have you in a grip

of whalebone teeth.

For three days, you are rigid,

light will not pass through.

II

They’ve stretched, torqued, twisted your body.

Your limbs turgid, warm to the touch,

a walking hematoma.

III

You want to transform

but you’re frozen—

they’ve pinned you beneath an invisible boulder

the shape of a giant finger.

IV

They weigh you down

with sandbag…