Dear Fear,

This letter’s to the ghosts long dead,

The monster in my closet

And the one beneath my bed,

The terror in the hallway,

And the one within my head.

 

This letter’s to countless sheep I numbered

The happy thoughts I thought I lost.

Every night I begged to slumber

But I asked myself, “At what cost?”

 

So one night, among the tears,

I begged relief for all my fears,

I cried for an answer to my problem

And found the road to rock bottom.

 

Twenty seconds counted down,

Goodness help me if the lights went out.

No spiders, heights or fires,

No basements or lonely choirs.

No needles, shots, or anything in the sea,

No hallways, no mirrors -

No me.

 

Oh fear, you crushed me,

Changed me, shaped me

Bent me broken with your hollow anvil

 

But, in your own way,

You saved me.

 

Every extra morning hour,

Mad mine from your power.

Every smile, hug, and laugh,

Remembered as if it’s the last.

Every essay, sentence, story

Made perfection by your curse

 

You made me climb a mountain,

And with every rugged cliff,

I learned a new life lesson,

Above all, I learned to live.

 

Thank you,

Rebecca Dodgson