My Anxiety Speaks to Me!

Did you ever stay awake at night and feel your chest tightening while anxiety is slowly swallowing your sanity, observing humans exploit our world? Does it bother you that we ignore its well-being and continue exploiting it until our beautiful habitat becomes horrifying to live on anymore?

“My Anxiety Speaks to Me!” by Nikhila Kotni illustrates how a little girl feels looking at the world slowly destroyed by her fellow human beings at the expense of their emotional drive and collective intellectual failure.

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Cover Photo by Manohar Koviri

Sometimes at night

When the world is fast asleep

I lay awake while my anxiety speaks to me

“Boundaries! Boundaries! Boundaries!”

My anxiety speaks to me!

Why do we have Boundaries?

Why do we have walls?

Why fight wars to defend these man-made Boundaries?

“Peace! Peace! Peace!”

My anxiety speaks to me!

Why do we have peace workers?

Why do we have peace awards?

Why do we have peace symbols but not peace?

“Trivial! Trivial! Trivial!”

My anxiety speaks to me!

Why seek world peace?

Why fight world hunger?

Why discuss Global warming?

To save humankind?

Why save humankind?

“Destroy! Destroy! Destroy!”

My anxiety speaks to me!

Humans destroyed multiple species,

Tigers, cranes, gorillas, marine life

Too many species on the brink of extinction

So millions of humans could live in luxury?

“Time! Time! Time!”

My anxiety speaks to me!

Turn back the time

The time before Humans

Chirping birds, dancing deers, roaring tigers and jumping dolphins

A world without humans, a world without boundaries

What a peaceful world it is!

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Awards

Nikhila Kotni was awarded the Best Poet of 2022 for this contribution.

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Credits

This contribution is proofread by Sreekar Ayyagari & photographed by Manohar Koviri.

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Product

This poem is available in paperback & ebook.

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