Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Epidemic


Phobia is supposed
to be an unnatural fear,
but when your heart
is racing because there's
a spider in your shoe,

   or your knees are knocking
   on a mountain overlook,
   or you're hyperventilating
   in the middle of a crowd,

there's not a whit of difference
between organic and GMO.
The tension can be exhausting,
leaving you a candidate
for a long nap in a safe place.

   What happens when
   our fear is more relational?
    
Spiders, heights, and crowds
may not affect us by their absence
and our avoidance,
though many a flattened spider
may strenuously object;

   but what toll do our
   interpersonal anxieties exact on us,
   both individually and collectively?

When the shape or skin tone
or religion or some other basic,
fundamental characteristic
of a person causes us
to recoil in panic, what harm
is done to our psyche, and
what cloud is cast over our culture?

   © 2015 Todd Jenkins

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