House of Fear

Fear lives
inside each of us,
peering outward,
ancient eyes of hate and bias.
Bigotry, racism, sins of all mankind,
one against the other. It feeds
upon the darkness inside us,
insidious, sneaky, a failing of heart
and mind. It fights against truth,
the light of creation and life itself

an all-encompassing orifice through
which knife-edged words spill
spoilage and shame

Fear cocoons,
building walls, dividing,
defeating. It blinds the eyes
from sight and deafens the ears
from hearing. It spiderwebs
outward, geometric rays of captivity,
capturing the grains of truth.
It lives inside the prison
of our minds refusing
to embrace the sun

a cavern of abysmal dark, full of ice
shards that razor, slicing deep,
bloodied and unbowed

Fear resides
inside the grain of spirit,
within the crannies of the soul,
slithering around corners, hiding,
then striking like a snake
poisoning everything, biting
sharp teeth into the muscles,
creating paralysis, afraid to leave,
afraid to stay.