Poems by Marla J. Frazier

I've spent many years now
Running from the bear.
Just when I think you're gone,
You once again are there.

Fear grips like a vise
If you're anywhere around.
I stay quiet and hidden
So that I will not be found.

Overwhelmed by sheer terror
Of another vicious attack,
Praying you won't find me,
But you always circle back.

Adrenaline is now surging,
Giving me the strength to flee.
I run until I can run no more,
And then you catch up to me.

Suddenly you're upon me.
I see the rage in your eyes.
I try so hard to fight you off.
I hear your roar above my cries.

You could do more than frighten me,
For of your strength I am aware,
But you let me go once again
So I can start running from the bear.

Pretty little high heels,
How you look so grand.
I can remember when I wore you
And I could proudly stand.

Now you look kind of scary,
Sitting on my closet shelf.
I want to put you on,
But I don't trust myself.

Just a few short years ago,
I could wear you and actual walk.
But now that's just a memory
Of which I happily talk.

Oh, my little high heels,
I did not have a clue
That one day you would frighten me
And I would stay away from you.

I'm seeing that my golden years
Are robbing me of things like you.
Now I shop in the senior section,
Something I thought I'd never do.

It's not that I don't love you,
But I'm up against a wall,
For to wear you once again
Would mean a nasty fall.

I still dream of wearing you,
But to flats I am bound,
For they're the only shoes I trust
To keep me firmly on the ground.

I felt like I was falling
Off of a very steep cliff
And I just kept on tumbling
Into an unknown abyss

I fell deeper and deeper
And into places never known
But my fall would teach me something
That I had yet to be shown

I know the words of the Lord,
So forgive I always do
And it was never hard for me
Until it came to you

We should always be forgiving
And we know why this must be
Forgive so that we can be forgiven,
These are familiar words to me

Where Mercy is given,
Mercy will be shown
But put through such a fall
Is something I'd never known

I loved you and feared you
And it was hard to live that way
But I patiently waited on God
And He finally made a way

The hate that consumes you,
It runs incredibly deep
And I was terribly hurt
Falling from this cliff so very steep

But now I have forgiven you
Free from the fear in which I was kept
Taught to forgive in a deeper way,
By God's love that has greater depth

In my dream I am running
I need to see you right away
I know I must get to you,
It cannot wait another day

How did I let this happen?
I haven't seen you in years
But now it seems so desperate
And I cannot stop my tears

And then I see your house
And I run faster toward the door
My knock is answered by a stranger
Who says you don't live here anymore

This has to be a mistake
You've always lived right here
Where could you have gone?
In my heart I now feel fear

The stranger went on to explain
He heard that you had died
I can't believe what he is saying
And my sorrow I cannot hide

In my dream I am running
To get away from what I've done
But the regret will follow me
No matter how far I run