This is my brain.
A battlefield of neurons,
firing billions of signals a second,
sacrificing cells to hold the line
against an outbreak of the heart.

Umbrellas hang in suspension,
thin canopies stretched across a storm of thought.
Lightning cracks through the cortex—
synapses firing,
neurotransmitters flooding:
dopamine, serotonin, cortisol.

Each pulse tightens the chest,
blood pressure spiking,
adrenaline rushing.
Fight-or-flight surges like blood
through a ruptured vein.

Is this love, joy, anger, or hate?
In a world of indifference,
they all start to feel the same.

One umbrella drifts away,
breaking free—
reason slipping,
emotion spilling,
uncontained by chemistry.

My brain mocks me,
laughing at the question:
which one will break free first?

—JON.E.B. | Flawed Thinking