Closer to Panic

Oh, no.
Oh, yes.
Another step,
I force my legs to move.
Another step,
Closer to my spark of hope.
Then the wave of
white-hot,
blinding,
pure
panic
crashes upon me as a cresting wave.
I can't breathe!
I can't think!
I cannot move anymore, either.
For how can one
escape
from a solid weight of
numbing,
drowning,
panic?