F.E.A.R.

I am the tree that rustles in the wind
Leaves stripped, roots dried, bark chipped
Starving for sunlight
In a sea of white
Browned from the green that keeps me at peace
Losing life
Stoically still
Unfulfilled
And
Longing for a squirrel to scurry
Along my trunk
To offer me the warmth
That comes from his touch
Even if only for a moment

I am the dirt on the ground
Dried and hard
Walked upon
As if the support to walk
Is a one sided luxury that I can’t afford
Longing
Longing for water
To absorb
So that I can feel more
More than the heels that bear into my back
More than the soles that distract from the real issue
Lack –
Lack of love…of life

I am the homeless man with an outstretched hand
Reeking of all the things you fear
Dirt smudged face, hole-ridden clothes
And a smell that translates into a loss of all things material
I am a serial loss
That makes it easy to ignore the real truth
I am you
Created in your image
Mirroring the ugliness that you keep caged within

I am
Water
Fluid and cool
Watering fountains of youth with a skewed version of truth
Reported as news
Reaching far
Settling wide
I am a riptide
Raping sands on foreign lands to impregnate distrust
Lusting
Lusting for new prospects to convert
Into my religion

I am the hands bound together in prayer
Fingers woven through beads strung together on a rosary
Seeking
Searching
For divine guidance on this cosmic path of confusion
I am an intrusion of thoughts
Beyond the darkness
The loss that lingers at the edge of loneliness
I am the space
Between you

The
space
Between
you
And the things of truth

I am the words
Not yet whispered – echoing through a funnel of opportunity
I am the ears
Fallen deaf from years of apathy
Silenced into fear
I am the fear

And I am here

I am
FEAR