Fear

Fear, why do you hold me so dear?

Why can’t you just let me go?

You drink my tears like wine

that was squeezed from my heart’s vines,

where the grapes grew plump and juicy

to be stumped on by the fat feet

of the devil that lies waiting

right outside my screaming soul.

You feast on my leftover lips,

where my smile used to sit

wearing my teeth as a crown

as I pranced by with abandon.

Like a prowler,

you stayed hidden

waiting for that one wrong step

so you could grab me mid-air

and take me back to your den

where you have kept me since then

making me pace, whine, and fret

while you sit watching the show.

Miami, Florida

Friday, April 11, 2025