The Knot

There’s a knot in my stomach 
Don’t know why it’s here 
A disproportionate response 
To an irrational fear 

There’s a knot in my stomach 
As I step onto the scales 
Weight’s crept up a few more pounds 
Another diet fails 

There’s a knot in my stomach 
As I think back to him 
The now insignificant other 
Who made my life grim 

There’s a knot in my stomach 
As I look in my child’s eyes 
Don’t know if I’ve got what it takes 
To raise him happy, healthy, and wise 

There’s a knot in my stomach 
As I write this verse 
My self-doubt says ‘bunch of crap’ 
My compassion says ‘could be worse’ 

There’s a knot in my stomach 
It lives and it grows inside 
A tangle of fear, depression, anxiety 
With no way of being untied