A small victory against Anxiety

I teach high school.

I give presentations,

Hold parent teacher conferences,

And battle anxiety, daily.

The worst is going out alone.

Not to the grocery store

Or for an errand.

Those outings are purposeful.

No, it’s the act of going out alone

In an attempt for fun.

It is then when Anxiety

Crushes me

in it’s suffocating embrace.

Yet here I sit

Alone at a table

In a crowded restaurant

Sipping on Jameson and Coke

Swaying gently to live music

Breathing easier.