The guy by the popcorn stand proceeds to where I stand here.

He’s just a passerby, so there’s no need to fear.

More people enter the main street,

All I can manage to do is walk around as if in defeat.

You're safe

There’s different music at every block.

I try to take it in as I continue to walk.

For me, this is all new territory.

You're safe

I try to regain some clarity,

As the scenes continue to go on around me.

I try to stay calm,

Yet all I really want to do is run.

You're safe

I hang close to my lover’s side,

As if I were blind and he was my guide.

Holding tightly to his hand and forearm,

There’s a voice in my head going off like an alarm.

I try to reassure myself, “you’re safe,

You’re safe, you’re safe.”

This doesn’t stop me from fidgeting with my lover’s hand.

I was afraid this would happen,

Since my home is across the land.

You're safe

I know that at any moment,

I will start to panic.

“Not here!”

I scream in my head.

“Not around new people I just met,

Not around all these people in the crowd,

Not Here!”

I begin to steady my breath,

Knowing what is to come before it even happens.

You're safe

I want everything to end before it even begins,

Yet it has already begun.

You're safe

I don’t want to stay here,

But it’s this kind of fear that I need to overcome.

I'm safe