The Self Startled Awake
Last night I woke coughing,
a dry lump of nothing
struggling to get out.
It felt dangerous.
It felt like not breathing
ever again
I couldn't fall back asleep.
It was, first, a nightmare.
I was at work, talking to someone
when a coughing fit came on which sent me
running away for water, for air, for help.
I ran until I woke
in another reality.
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