Nosophobia
By Jack Ryan Hogan
They all stare at me,
piercing me with paranoia-glazed looks,
stalking my every move.
All kinds of gazes; manufactured fear.
Layered in cold, aggressive heaps,
fueled by a confused urge for self-preservation.
Bloodshot eyes; the rest of their faces concealed in fabric.
I approach one of them,
they back away from me.
Treat me like a wild animal,
an outcast to be trifled with.
The rabies of compliance have not yet spread to me,
but it is inevitable.
Others don’t scurry,
they just turn their heads and scour,
unable to bear sight; they shun me for my ignorance.
One of them sprays something in the air,
a jarring linen scent fills my nose.
I cannot wrap my head around it...
...or wrap it around my head?
Why must they act like this?
Then I cough again.
Jack Ryan Hogan is a native of Long Island, New York. An aspiring writer since the age of 17, he originally took up the practice to cope with anger issues. Over time, his interest in creative writing transformed into a tenderly embraced passion, keen on world-building and a taste for anything to do with fiction. With a Bachelor’s in Professional Communications, Jack endeavors to become a renowned poet, novelist, and screenwriter, wishing to leave his own grand impact on the world.
