The metal plate sinks

by Caleb · 09/12/2025
Published 09/12/2025 08:35

The metal plate sinks

cold, too sharp against skin—

a brief shock that rings louder

than the soft thump of my own heartbeat.


It presses, insists,

chilling through layers that usually hold.

My ribs tense beneath its weight,

waiting for a sound that never quite comes.


The doctor holds it there

longer than needed,

as if listening

might pull the cold deeper inside me.


The silence that follows

is colder still,

a quiet that clings to my chest

long after the touch slips away.

#anxiety #bodily vulnerability #coldness #medical examination #silence

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