6/7/2003

I step out
of the cabin
in the swamp
the chitters
of life
at my feet
in the trees
and air
a constant sound.
A gaggle of fears
alive
in my mind
nameless ones
with aliases
grinning hungrily
as they flash
bogus identification
all of them
talking
at once
a deliberate ploy
to keep me
from seeing
the person
they want to confuse
so completely
he doesn't realize
he is the one
who can
turn off the noise.
The swamp
not
a bad place
has been home
for years
but
a distant relative
I never met
loved me from afar
I guess
because
she left me everything
in her will
and now
a better life
awaits
outside the gates
of paradise
which is what
they
call this place
inside my head
where everyone
wears a disguise.
I am growing
and greening
that is what
it is called
thanks to
my unknown benefactor
but
to claim what is mine
I have to
prune the proliferation
of fears
gone wild with desire
to keep me
from
leaving them behind
when I
walk away
from all
we have meant
to
one another.