Unseen Tension

Stuck in traffic, I grip the wheel tight,

     knuckles white, teeth clenched in a fight,

     old arguments loop like a worn-out song,

     the tension creeps in, and it feels so wrong.

Lost in the roar of a thousand dull thoughts,

     a clenching reminder of battles unwon,

     it sneaks up on me, a pressure that knots,

     in the car, in my mind, I’m weighed like a ton.

I try to breathe, but the past doesn’t fade,

     like a drum that just echoes the words that I said,

     the bite of regret, a harsh masquerade,

     my jaw’s clenched tight, where the silence has spread.