The Tumultuous Soup

A tumultuous soup I find myself in
A bubbling broth, hostile and hot
I pull myself up, clinging onto the brim
Only to slip back down into the pot

I battle to reach the froth at the top
But alas, relief is not found
My head in a bubble, reluctant to pop
My dread and despair compound

As I flap in the gloop devoid of a plan
My body begins to tire
I know I must find a way out if I can
Before the soul I’ve been gifted expires

My plight is shared with others too
United, we could find a way
But all seem content to wither and stew
Whilst ignorance masks their decay

A malevolent hand then turns up the heat
Its possessor I cannot quite place
He cackles and snorts as he makes his retreat
With his back turned, I can’t see his face

I have nothing but anger and utter contempt
For this fiend, this boiler of souls
So I steel myself for a last-ditch attempt
To escape from his crippling control

I push and heave and grab and grasp
For rage is the source of my power
Propelled I rise up, and out with a gasp
This must be my finest hour!

But there’s no time to lose, for the chef will return
So I look to the window ajar
I peer through the glass, seeing all that I yearn
And dive out like a cannon-shot star!

I flee forest-bound, from my tormentor’s lair
But my senses compel me to turning
Aghast, I see flames rising up through the air
It’s the kitchen ferociously burning!

In my haste to escape the maniacal cook
When through the window I dove
The curtain must have been torn from its hook
And descended down onto the stove!

A figure appears through the black smokey mist
A face contorted with rage
It’s the cook at the window shaking his fist
Like a demon confined to a cage

For my path of escape is not open to him
The result of his sheer bulk and size
His lip-smacking gorging on helpless victims
Deems him maker of his demise!

I turn from the blaze, finally free
To follow the dreams I’d misplaced
But what of the one who has so plagued me?
His medicine now he must taste!

Do I make an attempt to rescue my foe
To extinguish the fire somehow?
Unlucky for him, the answer is no
For I recognise him now

It is HE who’s been haunting my life like a ghost
And weighing me down all these years
He has but one name familiar to most
His name? His name is Fear.