> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.tom-shaw.uk/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # [Poem] Frightened Rabbit - URL: https://www.tom-shaw.uk/poem-frightened-rabbit/ - Published: 2026-08-04T17:01:07.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-04T17:01:07.000Z - Author: Tom Shaw - Tags: Poems, #substack, #substack-type-newsletter, #substack-access-everyone, #Import 2026-10-24 12:50 Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedIt gets hard to love you When your heart has burrowed down, Frightened by the thought That a predator's around. You hide out in the hides Of the ones you called your kin I call to you to get away— You say they'll have your skin. It gets hard to watch you As the light fades away, Even when the sunrise Tries to brighten up the day. The forests and the hills, They would roll on for miles. Those were the pastures, Before you were raptured and Captured in the hunter's headlights, Scared to lose the makeshift life You thought you had in times gone by. It's so much easier to keep the truth out And to choke in lies. It gets hard to hold you When you're on the cutting block, Calling for the knife That your false god rocks. To be over all the pain— Oh, that's become your bliss. Including all the heartache Of loving each other And loving the world like we used to. But it ain't the same now I'm in England, And you're there in Stockholm Captured in the hunter's headlights, Scared to lose the makeshift life You thought you had in times gone by. It's so much easier to keep the truth out And to choke in lies. For you choke on all those little lies, The ones you tell yourself when you sleep at night. You choke on all those little lies. It gets hard to love you When your primal fear is out. But you can always reach me, And you can get to know me, And learn my loving once again, When you’re ready. *I’m here when you’re ready.* ###### Frightened Rabbit \~ A Poem by Tom Shaw This is one of the earliest poems I ever wrote, and which made its way into my first book, [*Born Anew and Other Poems*](https://tom-shaw.uk/poetry/?ref=tom-shaw.uk#born-anew-and-other-poems)*.* Moreover, like the title poem in that book, this poem also started life out as a song before being re-worked into a form that would work in print. [Born Anew![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/a14ac55a4f27472c5d894ec1c3c743d2/substack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com/public/images/068343a6-57a3-4030-bc68-967f8bf1705f_1280x1280.png)Tom ShawTom Shaw![](https://cdn.mymidnight.blog/a14ac55a4f27472c5d894ec1c3c743d2/substack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com/public/images/267d512f-fc3a-4b5a-b9bf-6640500eafde_1152x640.jpg)](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/born-anew-994/) I originally wrote it when looking at the relationships I had in my life were strained as a result of [my lens on the world changing](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/medicine-men/) \- while their lens remained the same. This was my first insight into how myself and other people around me built lives purely based out of fear of losing the “life” we build to hide from our discomforts. When we see the hunter’s headlights for what they truly are, it can be tempting to “freeze” in the same patterns and behaviours we always have - rather than running, fighting, or to continue our life where the hunter’s motives are irrelevant. We deny there is a problem - and pretend this threat that forces us to live in a limited state is “the norm”. I came back to this poem recently and was struck by how a resonance of that fear still lived within me. I still had all the hallmarks of a “makeshift life”, even though the coat of paint was different. I was afraid of running out of money, of losing access to the communities and opportunities I’m proud to be involved with, such as [Liberpulco](https://liberpulco.com/?ref=tom-shaw.uk) and [Anarchapulco](http://anarchapulco.com/?ref=tom-shaw.uk). I was selling whatever possessions I had left in desperation that I was going to run out to cover the costs of things like my [creative writing workshops](https://tom-shaw.uk/the-writing-room/?ref=tom-shaw.uk) or travel. I was pursuing paid opportunities not because I genuinely wanted to do them, but because I wasn’t comfortable enough in sticking to the value I know I bring to the world - even at the meaningless risk of “losing it all”. Fear narratives were still having a hold on me in a way that prevented me from bringing forth my best self - and ironically, actually causing me to remain in a victimised, impoverished state. It was poetry - my own poetry - that helped me see the way out of that, even a few years after I’d written it. That is the power of poetry: it is one of the most potent art forms we have for reworking our old ideas and stories of who we are - stories that limit us - and giving it a new voice. The marriage of metaphor and imagery (the soul-inspiring material we need) with rhythm and meter (the frequency-based linguistic devices that our brains respond to) is unrivalled by other narrative-based and psychological tools by themselves. It is holistic. It meets us where we are at, and adapts to our exact needs, while still providing structure and direction. Poetry continues to be my way out of these self-sabotage cycles - and [I love teaching people how to do this for themselves](https://www.tom-shaw.uk/master-your-word/). If you’d like to learn more, get in touch with me via my website: [Work With Me](https://tom-shaw.uk/?ref=tom-shaw.uk#work-with-me) That’s what I’ll continue to do - because this work is necessary. I thank you all for being here, continuing to read these updates and follow this journey with me. If you’d like to support me in this work, please consider purchasing my latest book, *Go Forth, Butterfly!*, below: [Go Forth, Butterfly!](https://tom-shaw.uk/poetry/?ref=tom-shaw.uk#go-forth-butterfly) And if this is your first time here - welcome! If you’d like to read more like this, I invite you to subscribe to get something new every week: [Subscribe now](#/portal/signup) I look forward to bringing you more soon. With gratitude, Tom