' ' ' ' Undressing Myself(For Helen) Poem by Dónall Dempsey

I wore
a frown

& a too tight
fitted garment

made from
the finest fear.

So tight
I couldn’t

catch my breath.

Worry wasn’t my colour
(it never did suit me) .

Now it seemed
I dressed in nothing else.

And black
apparently is the new black.

Even my footsteps
were scared

of
themselves.

Each footfall
pinched

two sizes too small.

My soul
bled

leaving behind
a bloody footprint

a trail of my despair.

“It’s like I’m like
The Little Mermaid! ”

I thought
to myself.

But my self
wasn’t listening

wrapped up
in a scowl.

I howled
but then

suffering
was never my style.

And with
a smile

I stripped off.

Took everything off
my mind.

My naked mind
left fear & worry

in a discarded
pile

My naked soul
running bare assed

diving into
a sea of happiness

wearing nothing
but a smile

my heart
smiling nudely

at smiling fishes
flowers of coral.