Cogs and wheels creak and turn
in a young overworked mind.
Spindles rusted, unused and protesting,
overwhelmed by emotion
that has sent these dormant contraptions
into the harried state her mind is now in.
She is not used to this.
Chilled air
rushes
goose bumps down her arms,
a short walk away from the source
of her terror.
Muscles move like marionette strings
torn between moving forward
toward what she wants in her heart,
(the strongest marionette string in her body)
and running away.
Oh, that would be safer, wouldn’t it?
Blood pumps faster
rushing to her cheeks
mind flashing to luminous blue,
a captivating smile.
Her breath stutters.
Closer now.
Curtain’s almost up and her mind fills
with panic and giddy terror stuck in the spokes
rendering those wheels useless.
The source comes in sight
and it is too late to run.
He turns a smile on her
as she works up the courage
that will allow her to speak.
Melissa Baron is a fiction writer living in Chicago with her cat and partner. She is an avid road tripper, a Book Riot contributor, and a sometimes rock climber.