❀

Feet racing,
mind pacing,
I run across the dorm
to check on my pal
long since on the tenterhooks
of giving up on life
only for his door to be locked.

I thump at his door,
a thousand thoughts running,
wreaking havoc time and time
but there's no response.

I thump harder,
my distress ringing in my ears
the wait between the knocks equivalent
to an eternity until the door
finally opens.

'I'm fine', comes the reply -
another day has passed,
another battle won,
and another wave of distress
barely overcome.

❀