Dysphoria

nothing is more deadly
than slow-growing fear

when we add fear to life
(as most of us do),

experience
takes on fear’s scowl.

worry about money
smothers artistry.

fear of loss
stifles honesty.

not really wanting
to be where you are,

but afraid
to change.

nothing is more deadly
than slow-growing fear

few people live their destiny.
most follow trajectories skewed by fear.

true destiny is lived by giving everything,
loving openly here and now.

while waiting to open fully,
the heart suffers.

life conforms to the shape of chosen consolations:
television, food, gambling, alcohol.

passionless sex pacifying
implicit love (for a while).

misery of bankrupt heart accumulates,
becoming unbearable.

sometimes crisis imperils our soul,
ripping it fully open.

a friend betrays,
a business fails,
a child dies.

heart
stripped of what is cherished.

heart
left on the ground to bleed.

vulnerable.
forced to face reality.

everything acquired,
eventually lost.

every body you hold
eventually dies.

nothing is more deadly
than slow-growing fear

stop taking on
fear’s scowl.

stop waiting
to give your deepest gifts.

stop waiting
to love without holding back.

stop waiting
while your life (everyone’s life) passes.

stop enduring
muted agony.

stop bartering your destiny
for false comfort.

experience life.

© 2024 Raibeart Bruis