I would befriend hesitation,
take her shopping with me,
invest the time,
but impulse
is my constant companion.
Hesitation,
born of shared trauma,
labours over pain-filled decisions
My need is palpable,
throbbing,
must suffocate it,
weighted beneath
layers of numbing fabric
Afraid to show myself,
afraid that she will find me,
block any progress,
or worse
make my pay for these layers
of stolen moments…
encounter crazy reflected in her eyes
(Poem first appeared here June 2016. This version has been edited. Image my own)
One Woman's Quest 