I was afraid

To belong,

Lose myself

In the crowd.

Afraid of judgment

Afraid that all I

Thought was wrong.

So I took a trip

And the words exploded,

Thousands of ideas

Becoming obsessions

All soaking in.

Becoming who I am,

Deciding who I was

To become.

And drenched, I lay down

In defeat, in misery,

In anguish,

For fears have stolen me—

Those years I can’t get back,

Wrinkles with no iron,

Youth diminished.

And still I hide—

Afraid to belong,

Afraid to be wrong…

Terror in many different ways.