Staring at the screen, I try to understand the words swirling there.

They have, as if by magic, appeared from the depths of my mind,

Although the discomfort they convey could be more rightly consigned to my heart

Tremors threaten the assumptions I’ve always thought unshakeable

The certainty that had existed within my privilege has shattered

Shards slicing my hope into bits small enough to disappear within the cracks.

That fear and disappointment have proved so tenacious

Flies in the face of my belief that happiness should be the natural state.

Although to expect the worst is a human survival strategy they say

Written into genetic code as permanent as the ground I stand upon

Honed to a fine edge by countless predators across the eons

What once was a brilliant plan to survive the moment.

Now creates threats and fear where none exist, banishing serenity.

Hope, fragile and fleeting is no match for heartbreaks, real and imagined.

In its absence, a silent emptiness yearning to be filled

With a vision for a future with permanence not measured in minutes.