Fear
By Steve Smart
You knew it was late
And this wasn’t a time for a stroll
But you were lonely
And sought the company of the wind
So you did it
Did it in
Pitch-black darkness
With shadows fit for drowning
The kind that extends eerily unto infinity
The kind that
Threaten to snatch your last breath
A shapeless stranglehold
That locks at your throat
Til death does you part
Uninvited intimacy
Glides along your neck
Paranoia fills the soul as
Comfort bubbles pop
Feelings of safety, are gone with the wind
You speed walk intensely
As if it hides the fact you wish to run
To be far away from where you are
And whoever might be with you
Fear propels across your body
Intersecting at spine chills
Panic drives erratically throughout you
Crashing at now wobbly legs
A leaf crunches on the floor
A leaf you did not step on
Stumbling forward you hit pavement
You turn to face what cannot be seen
But you feel
You feel the blade
Plunging down your thigh
In a jagged zig-zag
Slowly ripping and tearing flesh
While you shriek and wail
It continues like nails clawing a chalkboard
Slowly down the leg
Blood gashes erratically
On the pavement, in your face
All the way down to the shin
This must be the end you imagine
As you’re dragged into damp grass and dirt
The knife spears through your palm
Planting firmly into the earth
You’re down, and you’re not getting up
And then, nothing
Bleeding to death
Cowering in agony
Trembling and losing consciousness
Waiting for it to all be over
Judging by the silence
It might be a while
You feel like a kid
Lost and far from home
But children are afraid of the dark
But you weren’t
Congratulations, you brave fool
