Vanquish Anxiety

Anxiety creeps in when we are little and implants inside our head.

What lurks in the darkened corners underneath our bed?

In the places where cobwebs dance with wayward socks and discarded shoes,

The places where we know the monsters lurk to eat us when we snooze?

We cry out in the night, screams mingling with briny tears.

Our parents come with “monster sprays” to calm our baseless fears.

But the emotion is implanted, anxiety has done its part.

No longer will we be free of fear inside our gentle hearts.

Fears take on a lot of shapes, dancing shadows on the walls,

People we don’t recognize, passages of time we cannot stall.

There will be places we do not know, ideas we cannot understand,

And our parents won’t always be there to dry our tears and hold our hands.

And the anxiety, it just grows larger, it leaves us in despair,

Chest tightening, spaces closing, our lungs struggling to find air.

To help combat the unknown, we fill the space under our bed.

With so many things blocking him, the monster cannot get inside our heads.

But what we need to combat him is something that can’t be found at night.

What we need to fight the demon is to find our inside light.

To find the courage to exist, the voice to speak aloud,

To hoist the flag of our individuality, waving bold and proud.

To not be afraid to think – to love – to dream – to dare;

Only being brash and brave will help clip anxiety’s snare.

So, remember the next time the monster tries to claw out from underneath your bed

You have the power to vanquish it, using the love in your heart and the brains in your head.