The Grip I Fear

-The Grip I Fear-
by
Keaton Foster



The grip I fear
Never quite clear
I know it is there
Like a splinter in my mind
And a burden upon my time
I feel it each new day
And in many darkening ways
Always touching me close
Burning like a fast pulled rope
Leaving stinging scars across my skin
Leaving me changed from outside in
When I was a child it was vibrantly clear
I felt it each day and every damn night
I knew that it was coming
Because of the predictable nature of the man
Whose hands applied such pressure
Now that man is dead, suicide through guilt
Or at least that is what is meant to be believed
I am alone, deep inside my skin and bones
I suffer more now than ever before
The grip I fear is based in a reality turned unclear
What is true and what is not is increasingly unknown
Some are lies and others are just defensive posturing
A means to cut off the end before it comes
A way to fight back against the grip I fear
And the reality that such fear brings to bear
I am quite sure that I won’t survive
Unless of course I do more than most to fight
Unless of course I become ruthless and forthright
Like the man whose hands once touched me
In so many terrible ways that even after I escaped
And even after his brutal death
I can still feel them pressing down
Gripping and tearing at my skin
Such a weight that cannot be shared
Such pressure cannot be ignored
The grip I fear
Never quite clear
I know that it is there
Like a splinter in my mind
And a burden upon my time…


The Grip I Fear
Written by Keaton Foster Copyright © 2012.