A new dawn,
pregnant with opportunity.

It’s been a long time coming.

Time in which the flame of excitement faded,
disquiet growing in the gloom.

I don’t know what I am doing.

It’s just a thought 
but it feels definitive.

I want to be judged competent,
be competent,
in control.

Craving clarity,
anxiety swirls and spirals,
then snowballs
into stress.

A deep breath….

(Or two).

The whirling maelstrom settles.

Lean into discomfort,
create a counterbalance:

I don’t know what I am doing….
……. yet.

Novelty comes with not knowing.

Blog image: Sunrise by Tomasz Proszek from Pixaby.

Poem originally published in February 2022. Updated in May 2024.

• Managing anxiety and stress