Paused Breath

The plastic chair cracked beneath me,

a cheap sound echoing my doubt.

My words stumbled out—clumsy, half-caught,

a dance I didn’t know the steps to.

Then silence.

So thick it stuck, dust settling on my tongue.

The interviewer’s eyes flickered away—

a quick surrender I wasn’t ready for.

I sat still, breath caught,

a pause without ending,

and the weight of what I couldn’t say settled in my chest.