Exponential
Ian Cognitō
Anxiety is a hungry monster
greedy for those moments of crisis
and consternation
yet to manifest
It sees danger that can’t yet
be seen
Looks over its shoulder
furtively, panic-stricken
for sabre-tooth tigers
and their modern-day proxies
The anxious person will know
the sky is falling at the very first sign
before anyone else can cotton on
Trouble is
no one will believe her
when the time arrives because
she has talked about it too often
Don’t they understand?
She has always, always, been preparing
for this moment
Always at-the-ready
And now
she has gotten herself to safety
While the rest of us, grasshoppers
are still at play
Creators
Ian Cognitō
Ian Cogntiō is a queer poet from Vancouver Island, who is the author of five collections of poetry, including Animusings, Much Adieu about Nothing, and Interchange (a poetry/prose collaboration). He also co-edited an anthology on the topic of aging, Old Bones & Battered Bookends, which united poets from across BC, and beyond. From 2014 to 2020, Ian was the producer/artistic director of 15 Minutes of Infamy, a word-craft cabaret based in Nanaimo BC. In 2020, Ian established Repartee Press, an independent publisher of "user-friendly" poetry from writers from BC.