Afraid

Fear is a powerful thing; but so is courage.

 

Are you ever afraid?

They say the best poetry comes from the deepest places in your heart, the darkest places of your soul, and the freest places in your mind.

But; have you ever been afraid?

They say you must open yourself to others, you must express who you are, come out to love, share, and experience.

Does it make you afraid?

 

It’s okay to be afraid.

You can be free, and dark, and deep; but are these things so easy when you are in the presence of familiar company?

We have all been afraid.

You can experience the world, share your love in endless open expression; but is it so easy to take the first step?

Be afraid; but be not paralyzed.

Reviews

[Bear]

A very good description of the effect of terrorism. A small show of force with a big threat of more to come, the thought takes root and fear blooms and grows until it consumes a household then a city and soon a nation. We have all seen it happen in the USA since 911. Thought provoking poem, I want to thank Alondra T. N. for sending me the read request for this poem. Clap! Clap! Clap!

[747]

I hadn't thought of it that way. Thank you for sharing that insight, it's got me seeing this in a bit of a new light!

[Terry O'Leary]

FDR said "the only thing we need to fear is fear itself"...
Good poem!

[747]

Indeed. Thank you for reading.

[Insight "MH"]

Lovely how you give the writer who has just begun to write a boost of encouraging words. This poem is great to every newbie including me.

Insight.

[747]

I'm glad you found it helpful. Good luck to you!

[Sally Hope]

This is fearsome, intriguing, and paralyzing, all at once. Loved how you repeated "Are you ever afraid?" like a haunting chant in the first stanza. I'd say this is one of the greatest pieces you can read when you're feeling low or depressed, but that won't be quite enough to let you know just how true and honest a poem you've written here, Dell. Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us, for the world does need more writes that say "It's okay to be afraid; it's okay to stop pretending, once in a while."
Sally.

[747]

Thank you for your beautiful review, Sally. I'm glad you saw it that way and enjoyed reading it.

[Tomoe Tellez]

Now this is very true. People tend to compare being afraid with being a coward and their children grow up with this and it just messes them up, it is especially hard for the boys to grow up believing this because it's like if they are told they are not allowed to be afraid and when they are they tried to avoid that feeling, but you can't because we are all human. Your poem made me think of all this. I like how you repeat the same question but in a different way every time to change the perspective of what it means. Great job!

[747]

Thank you very much. I'm so glad you liked it and that it made you think.