Fearing Fear

The first step to courage is fear.

Nobody told me the staircase ascended and descended into darkness,

Every step plundered by fear.

The thief of success yet the comforting mother of failure,

Fear.

I wish I had known her sooner so I could grow courageous and face her,

But all I saw was a mirror of myself.

Fear.

It grows in us and steels us against the idea of a better self.

Who needs to grow when failure is an ensured way to escape the fear of success?

The fear of being able to make it, the fear of being yourself,

The fear of being more than what you allow yourself to be.

Fear.

It's alluring yet terrifying like the warmth of a sunny day,

only to cause death by dehydration and burns.

Fear, fear, fear,

Will fearing fear itself be the way to communicate with her?

Surely, with enough fear, it will drown itself out and give to courage.

Fear.

It is the first step to courage,

To confront yourself,

To accept yourself,

To vocalize yourself,

in front of her mirror.