There are days
the gas tank I can't afford to fill
is the only friend I have
the one guard in place
between a sturdy grip on the wheel
and idle hands itching for escape.
There are nights
the headlights on my Kia
give me a safe place-
my only safe place
where I can let my mask slip
and feel what I shouldn't be feeling.
There are moments
the glass windshield I gaze through
seems less likely to shatter
than my feeble grip on reality
and more clear than the world around me
waiting to pull me back in.
But every second
the walls in my mind
like the doors on my car
have a chance to crash
to fall apart like cheap plastic
and ruin it all.
02/06/2023
