Dark Shadowed Corners

To come out here and say these things is not easy. To speak of things that are usually kept silent is difficult. We speak only of those things that pass easily through our days. We do not speak of those things that lurk in the shadows, over in the corners of the room where we never look.

There are so many things we can say and do to keep our eyes averted from those darker corners. Away from those shadows that shift uneasily whenever we happen to catch them out of the corners of our eyes.

But here is a thing we cannot avoid. Here is something that creeps up, out of the shadows whenever we close our eyes. It sits there in front of us breathing heavily and licking its lips while it flexes its claws. It is waiting there, we know. But whenever we dare open our eyes it is gone, back to its hiding place in the shadows.

We know that one day we will open our eyes and it will be there in front of us. We will no longer be able to pretend it is not there. We will have to face it. We will have to speak of it.