The Emotional Flinch

Surging like electricity to the esoteric abyss of my soul, felt in all body parts, the flinching brought to the shoal. Even the slightest stub of a toe, a beloved child in distress, causes bile to roil and roll, the bowels of my heart in duress. Likewise the agony of a pet - the suffering shrill, painful howl. As a child I buried a silver dollar, his float to water’s top foul. The automatic flinch - squeeze of fists, jaw, stomach, lady parts. My brain disoriented, imaginative, culling others pain is a fine art. The news of a small child hit by a homerun play, and the grab Of the disintegrating player, dissolving into tears - a poignant stab. Why do I linger so long, explaining at length my wearisome woe. So you’ll grasp my afferent saturation and how my compassion grows. 5/30/2019 What Makes You Flinch Poetry Contest Sponsor: Julie Rodeheaver