Unseen Muscle

The phone call droned, a steady sound,

while troubles gathered all around.

And then I felt it, tight and slow,

a clench my mind did not quite know.

My jaw went rigid, set like stone,

a tension I had never shown.

My molars ground against the grit,

while on the phone, they asked for it –

a payment, date, a stern command,

things I could barely understand.

I felt the ache bloom later on,

my face a mask, though I was gone

to what they said. A subtle strain,

a private, physical pain.

My chin would tremor, I confess,

caught by my face's own distress.

This body holds its silent fight,

tightening up with all its might.