Four Emotions Personified

Doubt stares at me like he has

swallowed a swarm of stink bugs

Eyes scrunched; eyebrows raised.

Shaking his bald head rapidly.

Light reflecting off the top as it

moves from right to left and back again.

Tongue clicking at metronome intervals,

his fingers tap rhythmlessly on his thighs.

I don’t know what to do.

 

Sarcasm sprouts Muppet Beaker hair

and looks at me with inebriated eyes.

His acned face devoid of any healthy color.

There is a reason his name means

sharp witt. He looks like he wants

to cut me down or watch me die.

As he stretches his neck, ostrich-like,

I catch my breath to prepare

to defend my honor

 

Anxiety changes her outfit

every three minutes.

Her room is windswept with

discarded clothes and banished bobbles.

She shakes her hands like maracas

when they’re not in other use.

Her voice scales from a cow-like moo

to a pig squeal like a gestapo siren.

I shut my eyes and cover my ears.

 

Confidence smiles like a Vogue model

at a downtown Paris fashion show—

but with the warmth of your grandma—

and talks in a pleasing, clear precise voice.

She walks with the energy and the life of

a valedictorian crossing the graduation stage.

Her lipstick never smears or wears off.

She puts me at ease just by being.

I want to be her best friend.

 

 

Kathleen A. Dorholt

NaPoWriMo 2020

NaPoWriMo 4/15/2020

witt. He looks like he wants

To cut me down or watch me die.

As He stretches his neck, ostrich-like

I catch my breath to prepare

means

Sharp

Four Emotions, Four Stanzas

Doubt stares at me;Like he has just 

 

to defend my honor

Anxiety changes her outfit

Every. three minutes

Her room is windswept with

Discarded clothes and banished bobbles

She shakes her hands like maracas 

When they’re not in other use

Her voice scales from a cow-like moo

To a pig squeal like a gestapo siren

I shut my eyes and cover my ears.

Confidence smiles like a Vogue model

At a downtown Paris fashion show

But with the warmth of your grandma

And talks in a pleasing, clear precise voice

She walks with the energy and the life of

A valedictorian crossing the graduation stage

Her lipstick never smears or wears off

She puts me at ease just by being

I want to be her best friend.

Kathleen A. Dorholt

NaPoWriMo 2020

NaPoWriMo 4/15/2020

Confidence smiles like a Vogue model

At a downtown Paris fashion show

But with the warmth of your grandma

And talks in a pleasing, clear precise voice

She walks with the energy and the life of

A valedictorian crossing the graduation stage

Her lipstick never smears or wears off

She puts me at ease just by being

I want to be her best friend.

Kathleen A. Dorholt

NaPoWriMo 2020

NaPoWriMo 4/15/2020