________ ________ ________
2020-11-25 / \/ \/ / \
/ __/ /_ _/
I keep a bat under my bed. It's heavy and / _/ / /
black and cold and scary. \_______/_\___/____/\___/____/_
/ \/ \/ / \
The bat's there in case things get bad / _/ /_ _/
In case something gets in that frightens me /- / _/ /
so much that the only way to protect myself \________/\________/\___/____/
and the people I love is to take up that bat
and swing away.
I live in a safe neighborhood and I lock my doors and windows. When I weigh
it up, in all likelihood I'll never have to take up that cold bat and I'll
ever have to swing it's heavy, black body.
But it waits there like a patient animal, silent. Claws and teeth and
muscle perfectly still, waiting for the moment they're needed. It's a comfort
to know it's there, a weapon under my bed, hidden from view, though It's
troubling to know there's things I'm so scared of that I need it there to
comfort me, and It's terrifying to know the damage that I'll do if I ever have
to use it.
