On Being Afraid

I fear
Giving my questions
A voice -

Leaving them
Open
To ridicule,

Even if that ridicule
Is my own.

I fear
Putting them on paper

Because that gives
My ignorance
A sense of
Permanence

I don’t want it
To deserve.

I fear
Seeing my own truth
In black and white,

Penned by my own hand,
Outside of my head.