Be Afraid

Everything conspires to kill you:
water (the river, the sea, the flood)
air (the hurricane, the blizzard wind, the twisting tornado)
fire (the burning house, the burning forest, the burning sun)
earth (the landslide, the earthquake, the pull of gravity)
and animals, large and small (the bear, the spider, the snake)

It makes you weary and wary
especially since the greatest danger
is your kind, your very own kind
(the sword, the arrows, the noose).