subtext

I worry being

controlled and

predicated

by my clichés

and desires           

as much as by

the whispered

fears of others

it would be easy

to submit

to the passion

to stop the self-

evisceration

and trouble

myself no more

with doubts

and questions

but I would

rather dance

precariously

along a wire

each step mine

and only mine

bloodied and maimed

than chained

to the hedonistic

whims of comfort

or hollow fame