passed into the donut hole, fate’s door
impotent, cocooned in a machine
hulking roiling dread awash
     between heart and lungs
the stale white drop ceiling stares down
its bare canvas lacking distraction for an unsettled mind
the machine begins its spin and hum
charting my internal geography
the donut’s dispassionate voice intones
“take a deep breath and hold”
     … then … “breathe normally”
Breathe ? Really ? breathe normally?
through anger and angst and fear?
Has the creeping invader retreated? or advanced?
hiding to attack again?
Does the thrum augur a future? or portend?
I compose my internal churning core
as the session ends
inbreaths/outbreaths revert to life’s rhythm
as I re-dress, in limbo
the donut neither condemns nor absolves, just exposes
now I await the reprieve or sentence

Originally written: 3/8/2024