Stand

Crawling on hands and knees, this tunnel stretches through eternity.

Survival

He wades along the shore, living off the sea, never feeling the hot sand between his toes.

Being

Ugliness is a human’s favorite pet. He is trained to heel, sit, and attack. We feed him the scraps of others.

Roots

If I return to the wild, I will be alone.

Exorcism

The world haunts my subconscious in the dead of night and the peak of day. If only I were a priest.

Too Late

I waited but no one came. I called out and no one came: jumping, kicking, crying….still alone. I fell silent. There came a whisper…

Burden

I have a second shadow. It is hidden where the world will never see, throbbing and squirming. I will never be alone as long as it is with me.

Doubt

It swarms around my head searching for a way inside. I wish I could bolt the doors and windows and scream out, but instead I invite it in for tea. I get few words in, too busy cooking and feeding. I welcome the insults, which sound satisfyingly more painful in my own voice. “You’re going to drive yourself crazy” others say, they don’t understand.

 

Regret

So hard to break beneath the waves that crash and swirl around me. The salty taste fills my mouth and nose and burns inside my chest. If only I could swim back to shore, where the water was beautiful.