The Long and Short of It
Life can be such a wicked troll
And demand a truly monstrous toll
As we traverse its bridges and knolls;
At times it weighs heavily on our souls.
Do we sigh and just give in,
Kneel and surrender before we begin
To explore the possibilities which arise
Just beyond our lowered eyes?
Are we never to savor the zest of life,
Bedeviled forever by needless strife,
Because we do not dare to see
The beckoning hope that would set us free?
No iron manacles can ever bind
Us more securely imprisoned than our minds,
Or shackle us more firmly to lives of despair
Because we will not stand and dare
To shake free of self-imposed restraints
Inner fears and overwrought complaints;
Always reaching out for a helping hand,
Rather than making our own forthright stand.
Free your mind and open your heart;
Make today the
beginning of
a new start.
You’ll find granite monsters, met face to face,
Are often transformed into gossamer lace.
That looming ogre so fierce and tall
Is just a mirage, after all.
How could we have been so long in thrall
To a boogey man that fragile and small?
© 10/14/2009 T.P. Woodfork
Inspired by the essay “Conquering Fear”
By
Nazia Mallick
in Ode Magazine
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