Crowds

At first, your senses are just in shock,
as you're caught between a pulsing bass,
flashing lights,
and bodies shifting around you.

There's too much for you to take in,
so you simply stand there,
stunned and sticking to your friends' sides,
trying to ignore the elbows of those walking by.

Eventually, you may start being able to experience more.
Interesting people stand out to you,
or the songs are recognizable again,
and you can enjoy swaying or jumping in rhythm.

Either that, or every loud noise,
nearby sudden movement,
or environmental change,
jerks you back into the present again,
where the music's too loud,
and the crowd's dense enough to squeeze your lungs,
making air difficult to draw in.

Your heart starts pumping,
and you need some air
that hasn't been exhaled by a hundred others.
Space to move and shift
where you won't bump into half a dozen people at once.
Where the night is cooler
than a struggling air conditioner can compensate for.