I post this poem as my third assignment for the Writing 201 Poetry course. It is a poem I wrote nearly ten years ago. It is not really about trust, but rather the lack or loss of it and the way we are easily distracted from being trusting or trustworthy by irrational fear or enthusiasm.

Hallowe’en

A little scared of you,

this Hallowe’en.

Scared as by something

there’s no reason

to be scared of:

twigs bristling against the moon,

moths, butterflies’ wings,

the sound of objects creaking

in the dark,

the dark itself,

& things too beautiful to ever be true.

*

Love is a little terror

playing with a loaded gun.

Bullets of lead and gold let rip

and ricochet around.

We rush for cover

in a new embrace

to overcome our fear

of closeness

& ordinary things.