PETRIFIED

Not knowing how you are
But fearing the worst
I am paralyzed by ghosts of past tragedies
Anger, guilt, and shame are toxic emotions
Constricting breath and repelling human contact
I pray to any spirit that will listen
For your safety
As I write I feel the threat of tears
Aching for release
If I knew there was someone else you would talk to
I could be less thoroughly petrified
But I fear that you are lost in a dark internal maze
Without light or release
The agony of waiting to know
Is probably incomparable to what you feel
But I am dragged under the waves
By torturous dread
And am mired in walls of stone
Waiting for your voice

–BYPO c)2010