Warts

The panic that sets in when things go wrong
Lodges deep in the spine, and will not go
Though everything should be resolved in song
(As in the musicals we love and know).
No, terror deeper than the furthest sound
Will bubble upward for a week, or more,
Whenever palliatives are not around,
And leave you panting, or curled on the floor.
Self-medication (sugar, salt, and fat)
Can have a little positive effect,
But if you try to go further than that,
The cure is worse than what it will affect.
And so I shiver: though the cause is gone,
The panic lives to see another dawn.