staying away

he is a tornado of anger, a wind
of fury that pulls us into its vortex;
blows acid tears into our faces
his is the face of suffering as he
hoots involuntarily, twisting his
neck into impossible shapes, his jaw
cracking as it opens into a black cave
of sharp white teeth and a thickened
tongue, his legs swinging high then
catching my ankles to pull me to the
ground, a shared ground that I
run from, let me stay away.