Recognition
A couple had come to the house -
young, seeking -
at first.
We offer hospitality and invite them in.
Without warning, a sudden discomfort descends on me
from the hiding, hooded one,
who retreats behind her traveling companion...
It is again without the slightest warning
that I am then on full alert,
no reason why,
but undeniable is the instinct primal.
Her reserve does not beguile me.
'You do not belong here," i hear myself saying.
She says nothing, though from the hooded shadows,
the gaze of two eyes flash like lasers to my own,
and yet I am unfazed.
"You do not belong here," I repeat.
My children, astonished, bewildered, embarassed,
restrain disapproval with tentative respect, “Mom?”
but their supplication is beyond a glass wall of great unexpectedness,
their voices barely audible,
where inside, just this visitor and myself are alone
and one to one.
I do not know the whys of how I know,
but there is no mistake.
We are in immediate danger!
A mere single moment passes by in tension
before a quiet hiss curls out from underneath the hood.
My heart jumps smack right into warp speed
with the dreaded knowing!
...damn! i'm right!
My daughters, aghast witnesses, wordless at the ferocity of combat
as the fight alights itself again on solid ground -
my fingers find, then circle, fragile neck bones,
pressuring deep against them evenly.
Intention visualizes disentangled spirits -
i call forth the force of sound -
and out of decibels quite beyond my comprehension,
a dire warning crawls up into my throat
and forms a bellow somewhere
between a yelling and a scream:
“YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS HERE!"
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