This is my illustrative response to a poem that I have found personally illuminating. The poem says a lot about the relentless nature of anxiety. When in an anxious state of mind there’s always something you can find to worry about. That’s my experience anyway.
Drawn using wax crayon, chalk pastel and coloured in Photoshop.
Fear
I fear the vast dimensions of eternity.…
I fear the gap between the platform and the train.
I fear the onset of a murderous campaign.
I fear the palpitations caused by too much tea.
I fear the drawn pistol of a rapparee.
I fear the books will not survive the acid rain.
I fear the ruler and the blackboard and the cane.
I fear the Jabberwock, whatever it might be.
I fear the bad decisions of a referee.
I fear the only recourse is to plead insane.
I fear the implications of a lawyer’s fee.
I fear the gremlins that have colonized my brain.
I fear to read the small print of the guarantee.
And what else do I fear? Let me begin again.
Ciaran Carson