I Walk Alone at Night

Don't walk alone at night, they said

I chose to walk alone instead

My head held high, jaw locked tight

Alone I walked the block that night

Footsteps synched up to my own

What terror followed still unknown

Glance back once, keys in a vice

Alone I thought I walked that night

A minute--ten minutes--an hour go by

Yet still it follows with heaving strides

But I am weak and prone to polite

Alone I'd never walked at night

On a loop my nervous legs take me

Past my home and past all safety

I finally stop--it's fight or flight

Alone I will return tonight

And so my voice, I pluck with courage

My words released with a resounding flourish

"No thank you."

I make my own light

I walk alone at night.