Erased from Ch. VII of Nerves and Common Sense (1925) by Annie Payson Call
Some live in chronic time.
They do not find it,
they do not find it and they get ill.
It is really much the same,
keep a little stimulant
keep a bad habit.
We feel unnatural if we feel natural.
We are in it—but it is poison.
If a habit of
rocking or chattering
may feel unnatural and weird,
we wrench out these things
and yet the poisoning goes on.
When we are in a pretty bad way,
the worst know it.
I once lived in excitement,
dressed in excitement,
went to breakfast in excitement,
went about everyday excited.
Every event—little or big—was excitement.
Excitement over nothing.
We went deep in the woods and the mountains,
full of great powerful quiet.
When first there, excited about arrival,
excited about it,
but the night jumped in with torture.
I suddenly started up the trouble.
‘Oh, oh, the quiet! It is so quiet!’
Brain in whirl of excitement
felt pain when excitement touched it.
