Cherophobia

The joys in life scared him

like the open maw of a beast

None can stop the horsemen

no medicine man nor priest.

His heart made him foolish

and his head made him cold

He forgot how to dance

just did what he was told.

Happiness was so close

Was just barely beyond his grip

Couldn't shrug off the binds

'Twas there at his fingertips.

Fear is a killer that

hardly keeps him alive.

Allowing only life

in shadows of his mind.

The life he wants to have

Is the death to the one he knows

Now he has to wonder

If he’s ready to let go.

(The fear of being happy is a real thing. It could be from believing something to good to be true or that its a feeling that won't last. Sometimes it means stepping into an unfamiliar domain. Happiness has become a practice that many struggle with day to day. That's what this poem is about.)