Hiding

A winter storm blows fierce and strong
around the house where I belong
but, sitting snugly in my den,
I read a book, and I pretend
that everything is fine.

I lose myself in the printed word
of fantasies, and then I heard
a rumble, deep, as thunder is,
I turn a page, and all is bliss,
as the story catches me.

Deep down inside me lurks the name
of truth – reality is no game.
But while the printed word holds me
deep in it’s grip, reality
doesn’t stand a chance.

Though pain and sorrow, rage and fear
are part of me this time of year,
I keep my loss deep down inside,
behind the printed word I hide.
My wall? The library!

Published in the International Society of Poets’ anthology: ‘The Other Side of the Mirror’, 1996, and in Poetry.com, 2013.