Phobias

A fear of sharks
in a land locked state

Imagine that if you will

A girl who’s never seen the ocean

Never felt saltwater in her hands

Fearing a monster

that lives primarily in water

Gnashing teeth

Surely stopped

by the miles of land

between her

and the ocean

Yet still

she curls in bed

lamp lit

to prevent

whatever sea creatures

may come in the dead of night

Maybe you’ll understand

the fear of loud noises

a stress reaction

brought on

by a childhood

of emotional bombshells

booming in her ears

and every time

the school bell rings

another bomb goes off

inside her head

but maybe bombs exploding

in a child’s mind

are a little too real to laugh

so let’s focus on the sharks

and tell her

There’s really

nothing to fear at all