stalkers arrive when the blood is thin
when our rivers are undamned and banks flooded
arrive when our bodies are beautifully colored
and the jailed up is under control
they are small like white lies,
like open secrets with mysterious origins
we might never know who gives birth
to a murderer
they are flesh-eaters who covet
crave to devour, who stalk and hide
go unannounced and conceal discreetly
in tucked away places waiting for opportune times
they are heavy-breathing like dragons
who char the air of our lungs with fear
phantasms in the night
molesting the innocence of our disbelief in monsters
in the market i am looking
hiding my face with a mask, disguised
hoping not to be found, but feeling
the inevitability of capture
i am cracking the door just a little
to see the other side, prayerful it will not be
i am recluse, agorophobic, am breathless
am looking out of windows at life
my stalker knows my name, address
and all the fine details that make me a living thing
my stalker is medusa made invisible
may catch me looking and turn me to stone
