THE RAVENOUS MAWS OF DEATH
I hop, skip and jump like a circus acrobat
to avoid grotesque maws that hound me
day and night. Where is there a place to hide?
I climb over every mountain, sail over the oceans,
but they continue to follow me wherever I roam.
I dread sensing them every morning, seeing them
every night in nightmares that never end.
The maws of death can’t stop scaring me
with their fiendish laugh and determination
to fling me down into that monstrous abyss.
Maybe it’s time to be brave and not run away
and have a chance to earn a red badge of courage.