Fear

She sits by the fire.

eager and bold
reading Poe after Poe
wondering who in the world
is a friend and who is a foe.

She knows.

she knows it too well
the pretentious world around her
will sneer, ridicule and quell
hopes, dreams and sometimes, fear.

And so she …

stashes away her dreams,
throws a thin veil on her hopes,
but fiercely guards her fears,
and displays them sans worries.

The world.

the glorious world in all its beauty
with all its problems and perils
renders them flimsy, so very empty
and quashes the demons and the devils.

Then she proclaims:

Wear your fear in your sleeve
Watch the world make it leave!
Next one comes, paint it green
Wait for it to be wiped out clean!