KNEE BRACE PRESS

A place for stories about chronic illness, disability, mental health, and neurodivergence.

Lessons on Anxiety

By

My ex-boyfriend gave me
lessons on anxiety:
Seven days a week,
140 beats a minute.

I turned into a pro guesser.
Did he like our dinner?
Did he want hot tea
or a cold beer?

I turned into a double-checker.
Did we unplug the heater?
Did he really mean, “Let’s
get out of here?”

Even walking in the heels
I loved was as dangerous
as climbing the Everest
in his eyes.

Even the uphill ride
to my grandma’s hometown
was not worth the risk
or his time.

When he met me,
my hands didn’t shake one bit.
But they soon mimicked the quake
of his voice and his lips.

When he left me,
his hands didn’t shake one bit.
They were already resting
on somebody else’s hips.

Contributor

  • An Asian woman with black, shoulder length hair smiles widely at the camera. The background is blurred and seems to be trees.

    Heather Ann Pulido is an indigenous author from Baguio City, Philippines. She writes to grow both roots and wings. A longtime student journalist and content writer, she is a returning literary artist. This year, she aims to feature more of her experiences as a bisexual woman with anxiety in her work. Her poems are published or forthcoming in Moss Puppy Magazine, Sage Cigarettes, and JAKE.