Feelings Can be Tangible

When I woke up this morning
he was staring me right in the face.
In a no take-backs,
no-one-tells-me-what-to-do,
making-me-want-to-hide
angry
sort of way.

His name is Inadequacy
and he's a good friend to us all.
He's got beautiful,
piercing blue eyes
that shatter your heart
like it's glass
and his pupils are
a little kids baseball.
He smiles like New Years Eve
spent alone and
when you read it on his teeth
they sparkle the word cruel.
His hands are cold and firm
but you don't pull away
because maybe if you
warm them up he'll melt
into something less sinister,
like courage.

Only he never does,
and when he lets go
your fingers are frostbitten
and useless.