The Stress Chain

It comes at nightfall

when you're all alone.

It finds you lonely,

ready to form bonds.

It comes at noon

when you feel alone.

It links itself

to your breastbone.

It comes at dawn

latching onto drops

of cold sweat

across your furrowed brow.

It comes and goes

without permission.

This stress chain

has no intermission.

We pass it on

from one to another.

Each one accepting

as a gift from a lover.

It cannot be denied,

nor happily carried.

So we close our eyes

and wait for it to glide.

~Khyati