The 31st of March
People close to me
Tell me they’re afraid
All I can do now
Is make more calls
Write another letter
I cannot tell them to be unafraid
I cannot displace concerns
I cannot command away
The pall that covers us
But I – I am unafraid
So long as I can do, and speak
And put words to action
Once I become afraid
I will lose my power
A power that stays firm
Bursts through double doors
Erupts with vigor and energy
My power
The only thing that stands
Between us and the darkest void
Jean Liew is a rheumatologist and clinical researcher in Boston, MA. She began writing about 30 years ago, with a period between 2007-2009 when she produced the bulk of her juvenilia.