Free verse № 268
Despair
despair is the name I give this darkness
that rises around me like a lover,
that rides me like a second skin,
that beats inside my blood;
a tidal waveform of desire
and frustration.
despair is the name I give this insanity
when it takes my name,
and wears my face,
and wails my fears aloud;
a puppetmaster hidden
inside my soul.
despair is the name I give myself
when I react instead of acting,
when I speak without thinking,
when all the masks slip-
and leave me standing,
naked.
7/1/99 JV.
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