::02:25:08::

::: The Sweat That Soaks Your Fear :::

Tensions rise when you corner me, I clench my fists and show my teeth. My habits have seasoned the comforts in my mind, so careful as you nudge. I smell the sweat that soaks your fear, the floorboard creaks as you draw near. The sound tightens your scowl, your pupils shrink, and crows feet appear. I know you smile when you feel uncomfortable and the nervous laugh lets me know. Pushing, pulling, stripping away, you torment me with your unforgiving gaze. It isn’t that I never learned, I ate it all, some I saved and some I burned. Experience is a flaming torch, it can guide you and it can scorch. Use these trials as building blocks, don’t put on your shoes before your socks. Wrong turns and honest mistakes, ease it back and pump the brakes. My world won’t ever revolve around you, unless it’s you that damn me dude. Or my wife who winds the clock inside my heart, beauty and patience from the start. People have meaning and family is gold, friends are important but easily sold. Acceptance of new and forgiveness of old, leaving forever is shamefully bold. Reading the same paragraphs for years memorizing the details of my biggest fears. These pages before me are heavy and stiff, struggling to grip I posture to lift. Time isn’t important when remembering the past, always passing through the present. The future is ticking, please act on every little feeling, with no regrets left to lament.

Written by: ~ Russell B. Long