Worry

when you wake you are swimming in it

bathtub belly, a mind in sparks bite clinched like a shark

tail thrashing tight churned circles dark fin slicing moonlight thin

teeth like a row of iced knives

each night—night, after night— the darkness spins

the house rots, the body too even your children

are destined to grow old and die, your belly knows

demands your share of the pain every step of the way

a stone crossing the river at rising tide