I watch the shadows dance,
As real as pretend can be.
The ties that bind hold me steady,
The illusion of security, of stability.

Let the chains fall away,
And I don’t recognize what remains.
Held under a false idol’s sway,
I’m too sensitive to face the bright light of day.

Leave me to the cave,
Save the truth,
For someone braver,
Than I care to be.

The fires of desire
Are all the heat I can bear.
The sun’s warmth can’t compare
To this inferno I can let smolder inside.
It’s too much reality,
Too much truth, for wavering sanity.

Jessie Gutierrez