I’m losing my grip, slipping-
one tear drop
at a time, looming
over the abyss. I’ve tried so hard to wrap myself
in sunshine, to smother the bad
with material stitched from love and life.
But my blanket is just a fire and fires grow
stronger in the dark. Maybe

that’s why I keep getting burned.

When you experience a negative
emotion, you’re supposed to feel it
completely and accept it so you can let it
go. But when the darkness
comes back, it comes back
all at once, and I’m afraid
it will devour me
whole.