Fear.
The small boy loved a girl.
He used his lawn mowing money
to buy a box of candy
held precariously on the handlebars
while he rode his bike to her house.
On the way
He encountered a bigger boy
who stopped him in the street.
“Where ya goin”?, he snarled.
His menace was obvious
and the boy was afraid.
The bully took his candy
and sent him on his way.
For the first time
he had felt fear
and shame.
He never went to the girl’s house.
He went home
and wept.
Time passed.
He met other girls
who became women
who became friends
who became wives.
His obstacles became fewer
But, the fear remained.
He grew big and strong.
But, the fear remained.
The bicycle became a car.
But, the fear remained.
His gifts were all delivered.
But, the fear remained.
The fear accompanied him
as he lived his life.
But, then one day he realized
that the fear belonged to him.
It was part of him.
He put it away
in a box
of candy.
Then, he ate it.
Sometimes he wondered
whether the bully ate his candy.
He wondered whether the bully felt fear
and whether he realized it was his
before the candy ate him.
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