Viking Mist

“The Vikings were afraid of mist”
he told me
as we loped through wet grass
in an Alpine town

Neither of us
had seen this place before
him, born in Iowa, USA
me,
Bristol, UK

“Well, they were very mean,
hairy,
tough
stupid fucks”
I declared

But later
- two weeks later
I stood on a dark street
and asked myself
what was I afraid of?

poverty?
illness?
lack of liberty or rights?

Honestly
I couldn’t say for sure

but
I am afraid

afraid of something
something unclear
undefined
something that sweeps in over me
without warning

so
I figured out what I had in common with Vikings
and this in turn
presented another question

who’s the stupid fuck after all?