Editors Note: Trigger Warning: This piece contains references to anxiety, panic attacks and past trauma. Please take care while reading.
“DNA” mirrors the disorienting rhythm and sensation of a panic attack, yet ultimately conveys a sense of solidarity and reassurance.
Sam Somerday, a senior psychology major said he wrote the poem “DNA” about “trauma and its ability to change our innate features.”
Somerday’s inspiration and writing process took place in class, during a lecture, where Somerday endured a panic attack.
At the time, Somerday’s class was learning about the effects of trauma on DNA and how it can cause modifications that hadn’t been there originally. Having experienced his own trauma, Somerday found the discussion triggering, which evoked a panic attack.
“I never really thought of it that way, but it made me feel very seen, but also very scared because of what others had put into me [through trauma],” Somerday said.
No longer being able to focus on the lecture and in need of a way to cope, he began to write. This automatic coping response became a way for Somerday to portray the experience of a panic attack.
“I wanted it to feel like it was happening to you,” Somerday said.
Growing up, Somerday hardly felt like he could relate to who he saw portrayed in media. Through “DNA,” he hopes to give readers a sense of familiarity.
“I want people to know that, ‘hey, other people are messed up too and it’s okay. We’ll get through this together,’” Somerday said.
Somerday expressed his own experiences with trauma throughout the piece, his favorite line reading, “I’m unable to hold myself up, too wracked with fear of another monster around the bend who is holding up a pleasant mask over a wretched face.”
“That is how trauma installed itself in me. I have a lot of trust issues,” Somerday said.
Not only does the context depict a panic attack, but also the one-paragraph format of the poem mimics the flush of thoughts and panic one experiences.
While writing poetry is just a hobby for Somerday, his work has also been published. “DNA” was featured in “The Rage,” a zine in collaboration with Students Advocating Gender Equality and Coastal Carolina University Women’s and Gender Studies. “DNA” can be found in “The Rage,”Fall 2023, Volume 2, Issue 1.
