what secret fear
follows you
in a nightmare
and every waking moment
like a faceless golem
waiting for the right time
to expose your weakness
to the whole world?
-30-
What Is Your Kryptonite?
Category: Fear
Superstition is Patient
like a scarab beetle hiding in a pile of dung there’s an area of the brain that lurks just beyond conscientiousness
superstition
it lurks in the dark alleys of homosapien’s minds
sometimes surfacing in real time
a crippling fear of the unknown combined with stupidity
superstition is patient
it waits for its prey
like a panther hiding
in the dark fringes of human consciousness
waiting for an opportunity
to challenge reality
-30-
Just Passing By
pedestrians in Every City Ohio
wouldn’t look down
at the still body on the ground
instead, they walked around
eyes forward but not seeing
not wanting to know
in ignorance fleeing
a harsh reality
uncomfortably bleeding
in their path
a victim of someone’s wrath
no
they blindly plunge ahead
with growing dread
unwilling witnesses
to a harsh reality
reminding them
of their mortality
-30-
Deep Fakes and Fears in Suburbia
the rumors grew faster than centipedes on steroids spreading into living rooms across suburbia USA
they were often dark and sinister hinting at a terrible apocalypse coming any day
some of the rumors were really just scary stories about serial killers looking for prey
in their insulated neighborhoods disguised as IRS agents who just want to do a personal survey
another persistent rumor that slithered through suburbia was that a great transformation was underway
but to the chagrin of the rumor bearers – just what was coming – they couldn’t say
-30-
Fever Dreams
Upon awakening every morning, I feel like I’m going to die
I don’t know how
or even why
but I have fever dreams
that go to such extremes
they make my soul cry
strange symbols fly by
in a multi-colored sky
of my subconscious
as I continue to seek the light
every night
-30-
Evacuating Your Home: What It Feels Like
The cities of Phoenix and Talent, next to Medford, have been burnt to the ground in the historic wildfires that raced through the Rogue Valley in southern Oregon.
When wildfires threatened my home, and my family, we had to flee from our southern Oregon community of Medford. At the same time a new reality dawned upon us; climate change was coming faster than anyone predicted.
It wasn’t that my wife and I didn’t believe in climate change. We just naively thought it was something our grandchildren had to face. The fact that the entire West Coast of America is now on fire has cast cold water on that theory.
There’s more signs across the planet that point to climate change, but we’re dealing with the worst air quality on the planet here in Medford, Oregon, and it’s got my undivided attention.
How we got here is no longer important. The dystopian future of famous fiction writers is reality. I look at the bruised orange sky from my backyard during the day and wonder if I’ll ever see blue skies again.
When my wife and I had to flee our home last week after a Level 3 warning of impending wildfires, it was a first in our forty-six years of marriage. As we raced to an evacuation center at the Jackson County Expo grounds, the fire followed us north in a shower of flaming sparks until we arrived safely at the designated sanctuary near Central Point.
We arrived with our five animals – three cats and two dogs – packed into our Nissan King cab pickup truck alongside family photo boxes, important papers, and food and water for us and the animals, and parked alongside 500 other vehicles containing refugees like ourselves. Most of us stayed in our vehicles because of the fear of COVID-19 inside the Red Cross refugee center.
My wife and I sat up all night. We couldn’t sleep. The thought that our house was burning, like hundreds of others, was a nightmare. When we found out that it was safe to come home we were relieved to find that our our house, and neighborhood, still stood.
I wish that I could properly recount my feelings. All I can say is that it’s a surreal feeling not knowing what happened to your home. You go for a ride on a roller coaster of fears that leave you weak and exhausted… until you find out that everything you owned was not destroyed by the fires engulfing the state you live in.
****
Trapped in a Dream?
I’m ready to wake up now.
It’s been fun surfing on monster waves in Hawaii in weather so beautiful it was post card perfect. Those two beach bunnies were a nice touch. Literally. Heh! heh! Everyone was real nice to me, and smoking pakalolo with those two Philippine fishermen was a cool experience, but I want to wake up now.
There must be rules.
Nothing is wrong with me. I’m healthy and happy. Just sleeping. So why can’t I get up? Shakespeare wrote,
“Are you sure
That we are awake?
It seems to me
That yet we sleep,
we dream”
In The Midsummer Night’s Dream.
This quote haunts me because I’m sure I’m awake, yet somehow dreaming at the same time. It stirs instincts from other lives that were hidden from my consciousness and are now scampering about like free rabbits in the wild.
What am I doing wrong?
Is it possible to forget how to wake up? Is that little piece of information in code somewhere in my unconscious? Did it grow tired of waiting for me to open my eyes and shrivel up? Way too many questions here. I have to pull back and not panic. I appear to be stuck in a nightmare. As soon as I get the right neurons to move from my cerebellum to the cerebral cortex it will go away.
I’m waiting.
Maybe I’m having the mother of all daydreams. Daydreams. That’s it. I’m having the most intense daydream ever experienced by a human. I don’t know why I was singled out for this dubious honor, but I’m over it. Time to move on. I have a life to live. Is anyone out there listening?
I‘m still waiting.
The end.
Be Still
Focus inward if you will
to that inner voice
that whispers be still
listen
breath
inhale
exhale
be open
to what’s
spoken
from the
heart
murmers
in the mind
listen
breath
inhale
exhale
be still
and learn
to be kind
and expand
your mind
Bubble Troubles
we all live in a bubble
seeking verification
on cable TV
because we live in
an insecure society
there’s bubbles for the wealthy
and bubbles for the poor
there’s bubbles for races
and more
someday hopefully
there will not be
all these bubbles
with their troubles
in our country
Looking In The Mirror
at first glance baby laughs or cries
when she looks in the mirror
and sees her eyes
but as the years go by
she forms a relationship
and greets her visage
in friendship
with selfies
and a discerning eye
looking to defy
age while still youthful
and beautiful
with cosmetics that lie
looking in the mirror
can begin
and end
with fear
but in-between
that mirror
must be near!
The Creative Chronicles of Dave Stancliff 