Phobia Poem by Ooi Hui Ying

Beady eyes
Taunting me
Challenging me
Daring me

A gust of invisible wind blew against me
My teeth chattered uncontrollably
I shivered involuntarily

I fumbled for my keys
which was
buried
sunk
and
hidden
at the pit of my shirt pocket
beneath a pile of junk

i gasp
and dared myself for a peek over my shoulder

On four paws
It stood
firmly
steadily
just like a predator waiting for the right moment
to pounce
on me
That's me
I'm the prey

After an eternity
the door lock clicked open
With all my might
i yank the wooden door open
and shoved it close
Feeling safe and secure finally
i peek through the peek-hole

Through the peek-hole
i saw it still there
its' beady eyes met my eye
i trembled

It could see me
Through the door
It could see me
The cloud of protection around me
which i thought i had
evaporated

All of a sudden my phone rang
I jumped
Damn blasted phone
Mum was calling

Keeping my right eye trained at the peek-hole
i answered the call

'The Cat! Mum! It's outside! '
I screamed into the phone
Wishing that my mum would come home quickly
Hating myself
for my phobia of cats