Fear

Fear is a speech-response
Based on conditioning
About acceptable speech
That applies only
To humans

It is a congealment
Of speech
And physical response that speech
Incurs — costs —
In oneself and other

Its biological expression
Or behavioural demonstration
Could not —
Would not exist
In a human or animal

Unconditioned
By acceptable speech

Fear — in humans —
Is identical to socialised speech
Without which
Society would collapse

Without speech
Beyond society
Outside the time-based framing
Of human language
The response is not fear

But the absence —
Of the one afraid



Fear is not what
Self — absent self — has
Nor is fear — of, anything
It is what
Self is