I guess maybe recently I have become rather distant

Like how I stand in front of the door
and listen
before making my escape

And the cataclysmic pounding of my heart
reverberating off the walls of its cage
quickly becomes more than I can bear
as though it’s reminding me of some dark
secret I didn’t know I was participating in
until I did

Maybe it’s a fear of knowing
that in some cultures it can be offensive
waving with the wrong hand

Reflective of the automatic caution I feel
whenever someone laughs or smiles
and flashes their teeth

Like I know the storm is coming
I just don’t know how to prepare for it

Are you warning me?

Spencer Folkins currently attends St. Thomas University. His writing has appeared or is forthcoming online (in/on the Rumpus, Maudlin House, Gone Lawn, elsewhere) and in print (Egress Magazine, Broken Tooth Press, elsewhere). He is the Regional Representative Coordinator for the Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick and is originally from Sussex, New Brunswick. He studies Great Books as well as English Language & Literature.