Four Letter Word.

​Four letter word
One syllable 
And a whole lot of feeling.

I met it when I first arrived onto this world 
Roaring at the faces glaring at me
Moaning ‘wwwhhhhyyyy’ 
Crying for mama 
To put me back
Safe and sound. 

It taunted me in nature 
Teased me with snakes, and spiders, and roaches 
I would point at insects 
Searching for a savior.

At school it was more vindictive: 
It shut me up
Put a muzzle on my mouth 
Numbed me to the point of terror.

At war, it made me think it was normal 
It was my every day 
It was everyone’s every day 
'Such is life' it said with a cruel Smirk.

It showed up on stage
It perked up with boys 
It shook its head in tests 
It blossomed in parties 
It pounded at me on the news
It was present at funerals.

Today it is airborne
It is in our lungs. 
It is in our blood.
It is in our bodies
All one point eight million of them.

Four letter word.
One syllable
And a whole lot of feeling.

​I wonder,
What would FEAR be if we hadn't named it?