So many nights
I’ve walked in the dark
just around the corner
to get my car
or to catch a bus
or a train
or waiting for a taxi
after a long flight
I do what we all do
I hold my keys between my fingers
I call my husband
I take long strides with my chin out
pretending to be confident
even though I feel choked
with fear
I imagine it every time
a man jumping from behind the garbage bin
hiding in my backseat
running at me
like a bear
but I never let myself imagine
what would happen afterwards
perhaps because it is too brutal
and I know,
as we all know,
that it could have
been me.