Closet Reunion

Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin! - Thoreau

Image credit: Yuiri Arcurs | Getty Images

all of my worst fears came a-calling

with their big, wide, smart-alecky grins

unknowingly, i opened the door and let them in

hadn't seen some of them for quite some time

couldn't believe how much weight they'd all gained

or fathom how they'd been sustained

let alone ordained

off kilter but self-centered

none of them wiped their feet before they entered

dressed in rags

no need for name tags

silencing me with their restrictive gags

driving beat up, old  jalopies

with no airbags

Author's Note

"When we are unhurried and wise, we perceive that only great and worthy things have any permanent and absolute existence, that petty fears and petty pleasures are but the shadow of the reality." - Thoreau

Reviews

[Sami Khalil]

I Like so much the take on fears, uncertainties and how you compare them to an old jalopies with no air bags. That was so clever. You are so right. They come as unwanted guests. WE have to let them in. We have to embrace them. And then that quote. It is the icing on the cake.
Happy holidays.

[Pete]

maybe i need to hire a bouncer ... :)

[Sami Khalil]

Hehehe. You should. Lol

[R.J Calzonetti]

Off kilter but self-centered is good double meaning. I always try to sprinkle a few into each of my poems, like easter eggs. I appreciate when some of my favourite fellow writers do the same. With my anxiety and mental illness, every day I went to school was a day that I didn't fit in, but at least I had some comfort at home. It seems you had it up to here with what you have to deal with. Great poem. 10/10 Writing is the artistic way of coping with our emotions, fears, despair and suffering. It is an escape as much as it is looking in the mirror. As much as it is seeing things as they are.

[Pete]

"sprinkled like easter eggs" - i like that. we must face up to all of our fears, foibles and limitations. the key is to not let them rule us and when we can turn them into positives it is a great thing. you do it with your writing, like no one else can and at the end of the day that is all that matters - being our true selves take it or leave it. takes inner strength and character to do that and overcome. that what makes us unique ... :)

[barleygirl]

Taken at surface value, I love how your poem reminds me why I don't miss family get-togethers. Even before these disjointed & sickly covid times, a get-together including kids, for me (never being around kids' germs) meant I would likely get sick. But then I look at Sami's review & instantly catch the deeper meaning of your spoof on the germy get-together. These days, they call it a panic attack -- when all our unfounded BS bubbles to the surface like unwanted relatives trouncing down the front door. You've been poetically imaginative lately, the way you apply unexpected life observations! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Pete]

i was never a big fan of the family get-together. usually just ends-up being fodder for drama and gossip and a b***h session not to mention an excuse to eat and drink like a pig. we only ever had one at my dysfunctional home growing up and it almost ended the marriage in a big fight between my parents - (could write a book on that). my mother never wanted anyone to see how we lived so we almost never had company. on a different level, we all have these unfounded fears that we shove in the closet and hide until they rear their ugly heads once again ... :)

[barleygirl]

Gotta love a spill like this. Makes my family seem marginally . . . no, nevermind. We're both screwed!

[Pete]

my father invited his entire family to the house for a cookout in the yard and my mother was adamantly opposed. they argued for about a month leading up to it and on the day of it, she took off. i didn't know if she was ever coming back. that night when everyone was gone, she returned, the fight came to head screaming at each other. finally my father smacked her across the face. things were never the same after that but they refused to divorce and just lived as two people who happen to be under the same roof. then would pretend to be in love but i knew the truth. maybe the closet is a good place for such crap to hide 'cuz people don't want to deal with their dirty laundry ... :)

[Dave Brown]

As I previously mentioned, while you are wearing that armor I think you are well protected from any either past or present fears with or without airbags
And a Merry Christmas 2U

[Pete]

franklin roosevelt said, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." merry xmas & don't forget your bib ... :)

[Sami Khalil]

The title is very clever too...(Closet Fears and then a reunion)

[Pete]

there's something creepy about opening a closet door. things of the past, present and other things we shove to the back hoping they'll go away because we won't deal with them. a good place for things to hide ... :)

[Sami Khalil]

WOW! So true. You are welcome. Beware of what is lurking...

[Sami Khalil]

"unknowingly, i opened the door

hadn't seen some of them for quite some time
couldn't believe how much weight they'd all gained
nor fathom how they'd been sustained
let alone ordained"