A thought,
or a memory,
startles me.
My head jerks,
and my eye twitches.
Was it fear?
Embarrassment?
Shaking off sadness?
Perhaps it was all three?
A thought,
or a memory,
startles me.
It tags me,
with a sudden smack!
I gently reel back.
A thought,
or a memory,
startles me.
I wince
with the pain
of self-contempt.
My mind wins again.
-- R. A. Melos
copyright 2003