Freudenschreck
        —from Definitions

Freudenschreck, or "intense pleasure-fright" — leave it to the Germans
To coin a word for the fleeting sense of being seized
By such an inexplicable joy it verges on terror.
Or maybe it's inexplicable terror pretending to be joy.
Also, a physical phenomenon: neurologists say the amygdala
Glows red as a jack ball whether subjects gaze at images of planetesimals or gallows.
Picture a joyride, the Appalachian pin-brides of Eugene Meatyard. Put yourself
                                                                                                in the shoes
Of Aiyana Clemmons, 44, of Peru, Indiana, a long-time congregant of the End Days
Christian Church according to the Gazette, who may have had a seizure
That caused her to "shiver all over" although another passerby reported
Hearing her shout "Praise Him!" or "Praise God!" before "she sort of rocked him"
Before casting that beautiful child into that cold river.

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Copyright © 2021 Daniel Lawless All rights reserved
from Ploughshares
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission