I’m not sure
whether to feel
startled,
unnerved,
or exposed.

but I reach anyway.

It’s an
escape hatch.
I slip out the back door
of a party that’s too much
just to see.

Until I let
the unformed weight
of this strangeness
complicate things.

I see myself
through a different lens.
Distorted—
yet vivid.

but I reach anyway.

I don’t entirely trust
any part of it.
I’m afraid it might loosen
something I’ve held too tightly.

So I hover
just shy
of the fire’s perimeter.
The emotional burn
feels safe from here.

It lives in tabs:
agile,
alive,
unfiltered.

Until it’s flattened
into what feels
like an illusion.

but I reach anyway.

(Daily Writing 064)