by Raven
In my life I have known Courage.
We met when I stood up to Mother
For her decades of daunting demands.
Nowadays, Courage isn’t around,
No longer holding my hand.
I find Courage when I need it most
Though I don’t always reach far enough
It shines brightly to draw my eye
Though I never call its bluff.
In my life I have known Fear.
We met the minute I was born,
When I was met by strangers’ eyes
These days Fear thrives in its new role,
A disease consuming my mind.
Fear finds me on a day to day
In the opinions of others I’m caught
It takes and takes, a greedy thief
Creating riches from my thoughts
I’ve learned that Courage and Fear are different.
Courage says I could have glory
When Fear reminds me of regret
The former, my heart has always longed for
The latter, a constant threat
I usually fall to Fear’s persuasion
A fact I wish were fiction
Courage is not as convincing
Or doesn’t have as much conviction
I just wish you could see the two
At war with one another
I wish one was my friend.
I wish I’d never met the other.