Anxiety

A sudden lurch
before you feel the shadow,
which should be light as a feather,
weigh as heavy as the world
on your shoulders.

You shake and shrug
but still it does not move,
instead settling down further
resisting your attempts
to move it on.

Others walk past,
unable to see it.
Instead, just seeing the smile
that distracts them from your cloak.

They walk on.
But look back,
sensing its presence.