“Courage is knowing what not to fear.” - Plato
This Wednesday Poets United has as its theme “Fear”. The Greek word for fear is φόβος (phobos), hence “phobia”. People have all sorts of fears, many of which are irrational and these latter kind are the dreaded phobias. There is a site with dozens of these and it may amuse you to look at it. My “Fear” poem below:
Fear
“Why be afraid of the dark,” she said,
“Close your eyes and you will see
A great light and rainbow colours,
For within you burns a sun
Brighter than the one up high.”
“Why be afraid of evil,” she said,
“Open your heart and you will find
Goodness beyond measure,
This kindness inside it is enough
To annul all wickedness.”
“Why be afraid of hate,” she said,
“You have the strength to fight it,
Your courage is beyond measure,
Bravery within you lies untapped,
Enough to let you win.”
“Why be afraid of love?” She said,
And she paused, thinking hard.
“Ah, indeed, love's a force to be feared
And no matter how hard you try
There's no way to counter its invincible power.
Seek it out; cultivate it; humour it;
Respect it; harness its potential; enjoy its pleasures;
Be grateful for its presence in your life -
But be afraid of love; be very afraid of it…” She said.
Fear
“Why be afraid of the dark,” she said,
“Close your eyes and you will see
A great light and rainbow colours,
For within you burns a sun
Brighter than the one up high.”
“Why be afraid of evil,” she said,
“Open your heart and you will find
Goodness beyond measure,
This kindness inside it is enough
To annul all wickedness.”
“Why be afraid of hate,” she said,
“You have the strength to fight it,
Your courage is beyond measure,
Bravery within you lies untapped,
Enough to let you win.”
“Why be afraid of love?” She said,
And she paused, thinking hard.
“Ah, indeed, love's a force to be feared
And no matter how hard you try
There's no way to counter its invincible power.
Seek it out; cultivate it; humour it;
Respect it; harness its potential; enjoy its pleasures;
Be grateful for its presence in your life -
But be afraid of love; be very afraid of it…” She said.
For within you burns a sun
ReplyDeleteBrighter than the one up high.”
.. like that! Have to embrace that light to counter fear!
- Thotpurge
https://phantomroad.wordpress.com/2017/02/28/28-feb-2017/
Well she was right.I sometimes think the negatives outweigh the positives and one is better off without any of it.(This week anyway:) As usual another interesting and delightful poem . Thank you Nicholas.
ReplyDeleteI didn't expect the reversal here that turned your title "Fear" from noun into an action verb. Perhaps the fear of love is like fear of God, something to pay heed to and take seriously. The inner sun, heart and courage that help us conquer the rest help us to find the real power of love within the falsest news. Thank you for this truth.
ReplyDeletethis is delightful...specially love the musings on love..
ReplyDeleteReally a wonderful poem.... Fear and evil and hate all have their silver linings (if one looks carefully)....and yes indeed, love is the strongest force of all forces! It can move the proverbial mountains when it is unleashed~
ReplyDeleteWonderfully deep and contemplative write!❤️
ReplyDeleteYes, love can hurt worse than anything else. Yet where would we be without it?
ReplyDeleteI like your philosophical approach, and it carried me right along to the ending, which made me smile. Good read!
ReplyDeleteI like all the responses given. And yes, love should be feared. It gives joy, but it often hurts and we are powerless before it. Great write!
ReplyDeleteOh, brilliant! This almost has the status of parable.
ReplyDelete