Something Every Day that Scares You
Do something every day that scares you.
Be your own boogeyman. Imagine
that someone is in your basement
right now, that they rummage through
your boxes and clamber over pipes.
Pursue your terrors, let them cater
to you. Walk toward snakes, alligators,
grizzly bears. Catalog every type
of spider that makes you shudder,
find them. Deliberately generate fear.
Your phobias will begin to disappear
with such frequent use, one after another.
Test your growing tolerance. Move
to the fifty-third floor of a skyscraper.
Approach clowns. Gather your papers
and important files, burn them. Prove
you are still trying to be afraid
daily, let your vulnerability turn
you on. Savor your thrilling return
to the powerlessness you have made.
Fascinating turn to a surprising ending! I thought the power was building in a "fear not!" kind of way, but...no. So now I'm sort of scared!
ReplyDeleteLOVE that etching.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of Dune a little (I will not fear, fear is the mindkiller, fear is the little death that brings total obliteration...).
Great turn at conclusion. Such an interesting poem to be inspired by the lovely print.
ReplyDeleteThis set of invocations synchronises so well with my recent post on anxiety. I may attempt to apply them to the letter. They make so much more sense than most of the cosy mumbo-jumbo remedies I've encountered so far!
ReplyDeleteEeek! What scares me every day is opening the front door to see what Monsieur kitty may have left on the front steps. This week it was a rat's tail and various other animal parts.
ReplyDelete"Approach clowns."
ReplyDeleteand
"Pursue your terrors, let them cater
to you."
All good stuff. Just need to find a flashlight (or knight) first!
Reminds me of something I did once. Right before I made my big move to Texas, I threw out or burned or deleted or otherwise destroyed all the writing I had ever done. I started fresh in Texas. It was terrifying, but I think my career has benefited from doing so.
ReplyDelete