“Fear”
By Angela Patera
Fear
Sometimes,
when I’m consumed by fear,
devoured by anxiety,
haunted by self-doubt,
I like to picture my worry as a shiny glob of mercury
breaking free from an old thermometer,
falling on the floorboard,
and splintering into myriads of silver bullets;
Invisible to the eye;
Yet menacing-
ready to suffocate or poison
if I dare get too close
Born in Athens, Greece in 1986, Angela Patera is an ESL teacher and a mother.
Having studied English Literature at the National University of Athens, she pursued a Master’s Degree in Cultural Communication. Angela’s gaze is focused on the representation of womanhood, race, and disease in culture.
Her short stories and poems have appeared in Oxford Magazine, Route 7 Review, Well Read Magazine, Wilderness House Literary Review, Midnight Chem, Flora Fiction, Ariel Chart International Literary Journal, Wingless Dreamer, Rundelania and other journals