What scares me the most?
Whatever it is

that supports entrenched
ambivalence.

This subterranean
view of history,

shivering beneath smoke,
hindered by helmets,

fearing what’s unseen
up top.

Maybe we’re misreading
all the fragments,

fleeting sensations, mere
theatrics of threat?

We’re so close to the
erratics of now

that history’s slope
seems flat

or pointing slightly
downward.

Step back, and back again.
No, further back.

Until the points and curves
of each human life

blend to form a single
suggestive line.

Do you see it? That
gentle rise of

History’s Arrow as it
was borne on the

bleeding backs of all
our ancestors?

Now, from this distance,
who steps forward

to articulate a defense
of indifference?

Progress can never
be assumed.

With no new energy,
incumbent forces

slow it to
a stop.

Origins:

Based on this prompt:

Write about something that scares you. It could be tarantulas or your significant other cheating on you or an existential fear of the unknown so long as it unsettles you. Describe it in the most vivid language possible!

Sometimes by articulating our fears, we strip them of their power. (But don’t go too far! A little fear is good to have.)

[I’m undecided about several major changes and minor edits, but I’ve got to go, so this is the current draft.]