Fear,
My biggest challenger,
my greatest weakness.
For many years,
I've been its captive,
I've been its slave.
Yet, now,
after everything,
it's losing the battle,
losing its hold.
Because I have jumped
off the cliff
into the deep,
swirling,
confusing ocean below.

It took me an eternity to figure out how,
to figure out a way to be free.
Until I realized the chains that held me
were in my own hands,
were my own knots.
All I had to do was untie them,
undo what I had done to myself.

So, I looked in the mirror,
looked into myself.
Stared the maniac in the eyes
and told it what I wanted,
to be free,
more than anything,
to be free.

It started to release me,
after I started to reprimand it.
But I had to take the leap
off the cliff
into the deep,
swirling,
confusing ocean below.

It took me an eternity to reach the water,
but now I realize,
I have never wanted anything so much
as the soft,
flowing,
roaring wind that embraced me as I made my descent.
For it told me everything I needed to know.

It told me that nothing had me in chains,
not even
my greatest weakness,
my biggest challenger,
Fear.