Eyes look up as I wander into a quiet sanctuary

A stranger I may appear

Just a shadow seeking peace, wrapped in soft-spoken words

 

My heart drums offbeat as I race to the closest bookcase

You don’t belong here - Too chaotic 

Defeat crowds my thoughts

Though my eyes only focus on every book labeled ‘Romance’

A genre to melt the frostbite spreading to my heart

 

Librarians' laughter soothes my pace as I drift my way through 

Row by row

My future bookcase growing

 

Nearing the computers instantly disturbs my mind

A dust storm clutters the peace I thought I found —

Blowing free

The tamed chaos

 

A man breathes loud, only a row away

A sound on repeat, never-ending

Disgust wakens the voice inside

 Flee - My mind demands

Monsters don’t belong

 

My eyes roll back

No mind controls me

Not even mine

A goal has not yet been completed

I refuse to be once again defeated

 

Courage wrapped in discipline moves me further 

Nearing the end, I have found solace

A throne of soft chairs in a corner

I collapse into it, claiming this corner as mine

 

Headphones in, my heart steadies

I open my notebook and for the first time in ages,

The words don’t burn

And

for the first time I remember,

I belong