I live my life in undisclosed fear,

A silent hiss that only I can hear,

No sirens scream, no dramatic chase,

Yet unease lingers in every space.

The morning light feels like a test,

I dress in calm, but I wear unrest,

A practised smile, and a steady hand,

But dread still seeps through like grains of sand.

I walk through crowds with guarded grace,

Each stranger presents a nameless face,

Their laughter sounds like distant drums,

A war I fight that never comes.

The phone may buzz, the door might creak,

No threat appears, yet still I seek,

The signs, the symptoms, the subtle clues

As if the world hides some sort of cryptic news.

I speak in tones of practiced ease,

Whilst my mind rehearses imagined tragedies,

A thousand “what ifs” pollute my breath,

Each heartbeat tapping out the notes of death.

But none will see this cloak I wear,

It blends too well with casual care,

I fear not monsters, blades or night,

But strangely moments where things feel too right.

For peace to me is sharp and thin,

A calm that hides the turmoil that lurks within,

So I live each day in veiled alarm,

Both shield and wound, both love and harm.

Day by day, I carry on,

My disguise of normalcy I will don,

And although I hope the fog will clear,

Still I live my life in undisclosed fear.