The Fear ( After Pablo Neruda )

We are not naturally afraid of darkness;
we gestate within it, our eyes unclear  
thriving in gelatinous sockets of growth—  
it is birth that dilates pupils to fear.  
  
Abuse, its steel toe boot cracking the teeth  
of our solar plexus in times of innocence;  
adolescence demands our participation—  
microscopically studies each breath.  
   
Breaking the spine of nonconformity  
fear wills one into a submissive participant;  
dominant peers lord over the weak  
and life is not lived, but tolerated.  
   
We sit on the rim of the well of darkness  
and fish for fallen light with patience.  
We seek havens of peaceful confinement—  
ultimately concluding ourself the safest.  
 
~        
          
#PabloNeruda