Anxiety freezes blood
to near absolute zero
in searing blizzards
of frantic trembling
creating fresh scars
with each panic,
exploding to bits
every cry of logic
every wail of reason
into a fiery cloud
of uniquely intense
drama of the soul
disguised as fear,
trapped in a loop
of terminal terror
with no exit
from its portable hell
beside some rumor
of a soul whisperer
who heals screams
in the silent desert
among angels
& ancient serpents.
Alan Altany has a Ph.D. in religious studies (University of Pittsburgh) and is a semi-retired, septuagenarian professor of Comparative Religions at a small college in Florida. He founded & edited a small magazine of poetry (The Beggar’s Bowl) and has published three books of poetry for a series, “Christian Poetry of the Sacred”: A Beautiful Absurdity (2022), The Greatest Longing (2023), and Intimations (2024). His poetry has been published by Tipton Poetry Journal, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Valley Voices, Sand Hill Literary Magazine, The Hong Kong Review, North Dakota Quarterly, Montreal Review, St. Austin Review, and others.
Website: https://www.alanaltany.com/.
Serotonin 