A Life of Fear
He’s been
sore afraid
he’s said
that before
somewhere he
thinks or
someone else
said it
maybe Dylan
Thomas or
Bishop Fulton
J. Sheen
maybe Madonna
or Rod
McKuen but
here’s the
kicker:
he has
psychic
bed sores
from lying
mummified
all his
life in
the black
ink of
fear wishing
the nurse
would come
in &
roll him
over stick
a thermometer
under his
tongue take
his pulse
peek under
the sheet
& say
Oh!
Mister Fear!
He wants
her to
ram a
needle
jam packed
with courage
into his
thigh &
unload the
whole syringe.
I’m fifty
years old
he thinks
this is
no way
to live
a coward
dies a
thousand
deaths he
thinks &
bites
his lip.
