Bittersweet #2, Greendale Green #3, Seafoam #5

[manytoads]

Name: Memory of a Storm
Story: Tempest
Colors: bittersweet #2 (memories), greendale green #3 (I'm in psych 101 and even I don't know what's happening), seafoam #5 (icon)
Supplies and Styles: chiaroscuro, miniature
Word Count: 100
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: second-person perspective on a panic attack, surreality/unreality
Summary: Selfen recalls a thunderstorm on the Beach.

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Selfen pulled the blanket around herself—tighter—tighter—never tight enough to hold herself down. She hadn’t realized she was screaming until she noticed her parents enter, their horrified countenances swarming in.

A head asks you “What’s wrong?” from a far-flung memory.
Another, “Calm down!”
Another, “What do you need?”
Another, “Quiet!”
The lightning is a camera; its flash mummifies the moment.
These icons infiltrate your collection,
which you often wish would just hurry up and burn.

When you are surrounded and alone—
when voice, and even thought, abandon their owners,
find companionship in thunder;
its sympathy shakes foundations:
homes, families, and selves.

Comments

[thisbluespirit]

Oh, very vivid - and a great and unusual use of the drabble format!

[manytoads]

Thank you so much!

I kind of love doing poetry-ish drabbles. I find that poems can really pack a punch in a small space.

[bookblather]

I like how the panic attack shifts into second person and into poetry; I think it really conveys the unreality of the feeling.

[manytoads]

Thank you so much :D As someone who experiences panic attacks myself I find it to be an interesting challenge to properly communicate the feeling.