Katie Bildstein

Fearless

We were all born fearless.
Stripped down of everything, naked as if from the womb.
I was thrown out on the street at a tender age
forcing looks of disapproval from my fathers father
sitting on his thrown covered in rat skin and the undeniable stench of old whiskey vomit.
I found the bed of dreams and crawled underneath to hide
while the mistress above told lies of pleasure to her lover.
I quickly moved onto the street as if I were to be caught
for witnessing such things.
There were cats and rats and garbage
and everything alive went stiff with the dark.
I met travelers, snakes, weasels, a locksmith, and a fox.
A young girl with firecracker hair claimed innocence before tumbling down 10 stories of rusty red bricks.
I repositioned my hand on his chest and devoted my life to be lived in oblivion,
tasted salt straight from the wound like a lovers first heartache.
Innocence was screamed.  I have done nothing but love you.
He acted careless and guided the wind to help her escape.