Turning Point Poem by Diana van den Berg

I turn my back
on you

willingly
and in jubilation.

You exhaust me.
I am not accustomed to your face
and I don’t like
your company.

I have encountered
two of your companions
from time to time
but Panic and Anxiety
have never controlled me
for long.

Fear,
go away
and don’t come back
especially not on a rainy day.

I will not continually
look over my shoulder
for fear of more attackers
on my own driveway

... well, not after there is a fence
right around my property,
anyway.

(10 July 2005)