anxiety: pick a poem part II

it'll be fine my head says, my stomach says no
actually it won't be fine with all your goofing off for
the last 1131 poems that  you never edit or look back
even once to the point of embarrassment
can you believe it my mouth says to my ears
that you didn't even recognize your own writing
and I was left asking whose poem it was,
then my cheeks piped up with protests at how red
and flushed they got and not because of drinking so
much either, everyone talking at once made my head
spin finally into agreement that maybe it won't
be fine unless I get my act together before
the reading.