The words from her mouth were slow,
And drew out from her numbing lips.
They muffled together and so
The grading scale for her was tipped.

Her legs shook as she gave her speech;
The palms of her small hands were damp.
In fear, her voice began to squeak
While her stomach warped in tight cramps.

Her shirt was twisted in her fist;
The color drained from her knuckle.
It cut the blood flow from her wrist –
Her focus perished from struggle.

Breathing, breathing, breathing in deep
Gasping for the phrases she craved.
Her anxiety: the silent creep
Kept her mind shackled and enslaved.