The Safety Door (Feb. contest)

He crushed one last fearful thought
and pushed open the dreaded door
Onward into the lion’s den
tingles shattering his body core
Not a moment less
Not a moment more

Each of which held a promise
A dark fearful proposal
He clenched his keys
with a well meant fist
clenched them, until his hand was sore
Not a moment less
Not a moment more

The street outside was loud
with lights and crowds
that rattled upon his trembling jaw
And the ground was soft and dreamlike
Submerged the screaming cars
he saw
Not a moment less
Not a moment more

And on among the swirl of shoppers
and throng of faceless men of war
He cut through the painful
air of fumes
a hundred million nerves so raw

He passed through the city square
under backward spinning timeless clocks
Looking for the safety door
Not a moment less
Not a moment more

A million voices rang inside
Without, a million faces bore
a seamless narrative
of malice, for him alone
for him so poor,
his thundering heart
and sweating hands
and ache and tingle
adrenal glands
worn wide eyed stare
for a million strands
of impossible thought
of implausible flight
he'd encountered
countless times before
Then a searing rain
upon his shell
cooled inner fear
and inner hell
just enough
to allow him one more crime
with familiar dread
regarded the time
And onward poured
to a solace where
he'd drunk away that
fear before
Not a moment less
Not a moment more.