Fear

Fear exists in everyone’s life. It can be great or unessential. But do you know that it disappears when you start doing what you are afraid to do instead of thinking about it? A man is able to conquer fear by only being face to face with it. We invite you to read how poets have described this experience in their short poems.

«A Sonnet Of Fear» by Jo Lynn Ehnes Allen

When life becomes a trembling world of fear,
you question every single move you make,
afraid your loving soul will disappear;
for danger looms, awaiting your mistake.
What hidden word will cause explosion’s might
to back you in a corner of despair?
Your sole reprieve lies in the ebon night,
yet anger boils from pain he wouldn’t spare.
Where love once dwelled resides a burning hate
as desperation’s hand has gained control.

No longer viewed as your eternal mate;
to save yourself becomes the utmost goal.

Envisioning a pool of crimson red;
a knife within your hand; your fear is shed.

***

«Another Fear» by Sandra Osborne

Drunk and wanting to be higher
Another drink, can’t find my smokes
Always wanting more from fire,
To much rebellion from my folk’s.

It’s hard to drink and not to care,
It’s hard to climb the loving stairs.
It’s hard to feel my love break through
Just never felt it much from you.

It’s a hardened life
In cold and pain,
It’s a lonely faith,
I feel the same.

Don’t ask me why I have to write,
So many told me “Girl, just fight”
With the inspiration flooding through,
Spilling and drowning in it’s flight.

So leave me be,
You’re not my foe,
You’re another fear,
That I don’t know.

***

«Between Fear And Courage» by Satish Verma

I visualize you all time,
my death,
A beautiful partner of my life
my redeemed ego!

Hate was not showing
its concrete face.
Love has lost the scent
and pshyche is leaving the path
of abstract truth.

Bruised, I loathe to go
in this unbridled ordeal.
Intuition or stupidity?

A spotless dialogue I dream
between fear and courage.
At end,
life can flow quietly
amidst the promises

clasping the peace, at its breast.

***

«Copied Fear» by Alessandra Liverani

Tobacco firms spend vast sums of money
To ensure their product seems sweeter than honey
A product loathsome in every way
One which must be purchased every day

You want to be like these glamorous folk
So you light a fag and begin to smoke
You feel quite safe because it tastes offensive
No need at all to feel apprehensive

You copy them as best you can
Blowing in and out like a real tough man
At first you’re just going through the motions
You haven’t found the power of this poisonous potion

Aping the actions, no problem there
It’s when you copy the fear that you must beware
Each smoker dreads his nicotine falling low
If he ain’t got none, it is such a blow

But you don’t realise what’s going on
That you’re about to be part of the biggest con
Too late, you didn’t watch your back
The fear came from behind, a stealth attack

***

«Crying Out In Fear» by Guarded Heart

My God! Don’t they hear me?
Don’t they hear me pleading?
I’m being taken away, and there is no one to help me

WHY? Why don’t they hear me?
I am screaming out in fear and yet it’s though i’m not there
I am needing, and yet no one is here

Oh lord, spare me
Send someone to save me

From my own mentality, for i shall go mad if left here

Will no one save me?
From the brutal man that holds me here
The very creator of my worst fear

He holds me here and will not let me go
He takes no heed to my pleading
He beats me into submitting

I can’t get out of here, and no has come
They no not of the reality of my fear
And my screams they did not hear

He will kill me, and i will welcome the death
For it is the only saviour that hath bothered with me
The only thing that has offered to save me

I am tainted now, no one would want me
My god forsaked me
And hell is home to me

***

«Don’T Fear Death» by Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Blok

Don’t fear death in earthly travels.
Don’t fear enemies or friends.
Just listen to the words of prayers,
To pass the facets of the dreads.

Your death will come to you, and never
You shall be, else, a slave of life,
Just waiting for a dawn’s favor,
From nights of poverty and strife.

She’ll build with you a common law,
One will of the Eternal Reign.
And you are not condemned to slow
And everlasting deadly pain.

***

«Fear» by Sara Teasdale

I am afraid, oh I am so afraid!
The cold black fear is clutching me to-night
As long ago when they would take the light
And leave the little child who would have prayed,
Frozen and sleepless at the thought of death.
My heart that beats too fast will rest too soon;
I shall not know if it be night or noon, —
Yet shall I struggle in the dark for breath?
Will no one fight the Terror for my sake,
The heavy darkness that no dawn will break?

How can they leave me in that dark alone,
Who loved the joy of light and warmth so much,
And thrilled so with the sense of sound and touch, —
How can they shut me underneath a stone?

***

«Fear» by Ciaran Carson

I fear the vast dimensions of eternity.
I fear the gap between the platform and the train.
I fear the onset of a murderous campaign.
1 fear the palpitations caused by too much tea.

I fear the drawn pistol of a rapparee.
I fear the books will not survive the acid rain.
I fear the ruler and the blackboard and the cane.
I fear the Jabberwock, whatever it might be.

I fear the bad decisions of a referee.
I fear the only recourse is to plead insane.
I fear the implications of a lawyer’s fee.

I fear the gremlins that have colonized my brain.
I fear to read the small print of the guarantee.
And what else do I fear? Let me begin again.

***

«Fear» by Robert William Service

I know how father’s strap would feel,
If ever I were caught,
So mother’s jam I did not steal,
Though theft was in my thought.
Then turned fourteen and full of pitch,
Of love I was afraid,
And did not dare to dally with
Our pretty parlour maid.

And so it is and always was,

The path of rectitude
I’ve followed all my life because
The Parson said I should.
The dread of hell-fire held me straight
When I was wont to stray,
And though my guts I often hate,
I walk the narrow way.

I might have been a bandit or
A Casanovish blade,

But always I have prospered for
I’ve always been afraid;
Ay, fear’s behind the best of us
And schools us for success,
And that is why I’m virtuous,
And happy – more or less.

So let me hail that mighty power
That goads me to be good,
And makes me cannily to cower
Amid foolhardihood;
Though I be criminal in gain,
My virtue a veneer,
I thank the God who keeps me sane,
And shields me from distress and pain,
And thrifts me on to golden gain,
Almighty Fear.

***

«Fear» by Christine McKeen

I stand on the shore line,
the tide washes between my toes.
I stare at the horizon before me
in a dream-like state.
I should have been prepared.
My mother once said life is more
than you want it to be.
When the sky transforms into
a water color painting,
the water washes between my knees.

My eyes fixed on the horizon.
I knew it was coming,
but I was blinded by fear
and couldn’t acknowledge it.
The moon replaces the
sun in the night sky.
The water rises to my neck.
I inform Hell, I am coming.
I shut my eyes as the salty water
rises over them.

I notice my fear has won again.
I open my eyes,
to watch the brightness of stars,
darkened by the depth of the water.
At the bottom, there is no Hell
but life.

***

«Fear» by Rachel Fogle

What causes the fear that people feel,
When there scared and have to face the truth.
What cause that fear that people feel,
When there in love and have been hurt.
What is it that there afraid to face,
When fear is at the door.
Do they think that they can just walk away and not face it head on.
Because when you turn your back on that fear,
It follow’s you night and day.
It creeps up when you least exspect it, and haunts you everyday.

Fear is just another diease that’s waiting to be cured.
But the cure is not in a bottle, a vile or a store.
The cure is made from what’s inside you.
The courage that you have.
But to use it, you must believe that fear is not all that you have.
Use what courage you can, to bring yourself forward and stand tall.
And the next time your afraid, remember fear is never far from the fall.

***

«Fear» by Jennifer Cook

My fear of is losing you,
I don’t want to lose you,
I love you more then you love me,
After all these years I think I have finally have found you,
You make smile,
I feel like I can walk a thousand miles,
In water I am free,
In the sand I sank deep,
Deep into my thoughts of you,
Fear is the biggest thing I need to overcome,

I have been trying to open up,
No more I shall cry cause you are here to wipe away the tears,
You make my frown turn upside down,
You have made me the happiest girl alive,
To live, to breathe, to make you smile,
I was a nobody but now I am somebody to you,
When I am hurt or down,
You find words to make feel okay,
I want to be in your arms,
The thoughts of you makes me smile,

I want to overcome my fear of losing you.

***

«Fear» by Ray Andrews

The forest is quiet and birds don’t sing
It’s silence the hunters bring
The long tall grass and verdant trees
Lay silent until the predators leave

A twitch in the ear betrays the deer
He’s alert and ready to run
A summer storm of danger warns
As dangerous as the sights of a gun

A man in his dreams yells and screams
In a roiling landscape of fear
The floor of an elevator fallen away
In his dream he’s lost all that’s dear

A twitch in the eye betrays a sigh
We’re alert and ready to run
Life’s big storms of danger warns
Some think of the sights of their guns

Racing heartbeats that loudly pound
It’s the fear of the battle ground
The long tall grass and verdandt trees
Are ignored till’ the demons leave

***

«Fear» by Sharon Ashworth

Shadows moving through the darkness
Black is the night for added stress
An eerie glow from the forest beyond
A silky mist rising from a nearby pond
Strange sounds echoing off the trees
The sharpness of the night’s cool breeze
Cuts through me like a razer sharp knife
I try to run for fear of my life
It’s coming closer, I can see it
I run faster and faster and try to beat it

It catches up and looms over me
I close my eyes so I cannot see
It’s breathe across my face is so thick
The smell of it makes me sick
I can no longer run and hide
I must face this fear trapped inside
I have to take a stand and hit it head on
I open my eyes and find it all gone

***

«Fear Is Not A Fault» by Alessandra Liverani

Fear is not a fault
There’s no need to lay blame
Fear is not a fault
Though it can kill and maim

Fear is not a fault
And can be overcome
Fear is not a fault
Though it’s usually not much fun

Fear can tighten around and around
Your mind needs to be gently unwound
All the wrinkles and knots smoothed away
To make for a much more enjoyable day

***

«Fear Itself Is Undefined» by Bianca Flores

I lie on my bed, soaking my pillow with my tears.
I try to remember exactly what it is that I fear.
Is it the passing of time or the love that I lack?
Is it the mistakes that I’ve made or the fact that I can’t bring the past back?
What is it that I’m afraid of?
Why am I so scared?
Is it the people I’ve hurt or the people who’ve hurt me?
Am I afraid of everything that I can’t seem to see?
Is it the love of a friend or the loss of my family?
Is it the possibility that my life can end in a tragedy?
What is it that I fear most?
What do my eyes say I’m scared of?
Is it the sun that sets but won’t seem to rise?
Is it the hope that I have that always seems to die?
Is it the trust of a person that I cannot begin to grasp?
Is it all the memories of my horrid past?
Is it me?
Can it possibly be that the thing I fear most is the thing I can’t be?
The things that I try to understand?
The me that I try to be with when I’m feeling sad?
The person I’m expected to be? Is that what I fear?
I think the thing I fear most…is me.

***

«Fear No More» by William Shakespeare

Fear no more the heat o’ the sun;
Nor the furious winter’s rages,
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages;
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney sweepers come to dust.

Fear no more the frown of the great,
Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke:
Care no more to clothe and eat;

To thee the reed is as the oak:
The sceptre, learning, physic, must
All follow this, and come to dust.

Fear no more the lightning-flash,
Nor the all-dread thunder-stone;
Fear not slander, censure rash;
Thou hast finished joy and moan;
All lovers young, all lovers must
Consign to thee, and come to dust.

No exorciser harm thee!
Nor no witchcraft charm thee!
Ghost unlaid forbear thee!
Nothing ill come near thee!
Quiet consummation have;
And renowned be thy grave!

***

«Fear Not To Love, Fear Not» by Poet Dragon

I greet the burden of your soul
and wonder if your heart is whole
when one can hold it out to share
beware of love, beware.

From all this wretched hardship take
a lesson for your wisdom’s sake
the future holds its sorrow’s share
beware of love, beware.

A last and thoughtful parting word
to one whose broken dreams are heard
take comfort in the moment here
where you can love without the fear.

Fear not to love, Fear not!

***

«Fear Of Flying» by Theresa Ann Moore

I always swore that I would never fly
Then one day I asked myself, well…why?
Inhibiting fear kept me solidly grounded
Suddenly, knots let loose; I was astounded

I realized that we all have to die eventually…
Staying tied up doesn’t give life a guarantee
Opportunities for distant travel have appeared
With a nod, I got on an airplane that I once feared

With a prayer and hopes of a safe return to land
I have flown across the sea to merry old England
After an invite to California from a close cousin
I discarded my shivers and reconnected with kin

I have memories and treasured photos of the jaunts
Luckily, I am not a deceased crash victim that haunts
Overcoming fear enabled me to overcome the miles
I have replaced the dreaded doubts with smiles

***

«Fear Of Gods, Fear Of Death» by Alice Anne Gordon

Epicurus states our responsibility.
In all my meekness and volatility,
irresolute am I to appear.
But for him it was crystal clear
His thoughts on life and death.

Religion grasps at our own docility,
plays to the masses our susceptibilities.
He was, indeed, a pioneer.
It may just be strife and breath.

Is it beyond ignorant capabilities?
To pursue a fathomed possibility
that gods are just the last frontier
In modern man: imagineer.
No need for religion that brings hostility.
The atoms resume to be life and death.

***

«Happy Birthday» by Avia Cohen

I loathe this time of year:
A time intended for celebration,
But instead I detest.
All I hear is “Happy Birthday”
From strangers with perky smiles.

I cringe at every syllable.

Another year,
A whole year older.
Why do we have this outdated ritual?
Why do we continue to mark getting close to the end?
We rejoice something rotten
With something as sweet as cake.

We indulge in a big chocolate cake
With countless pink and blue candles
And sugary white frosting.
We sing this juvenile song
At the top of our lungs,
All to masquerade our true feelings of it.

We take a deep breath
And blow out the candles,
Grinning when we blow it out in one try.

We make a wish,
Playing along with the imaginary,
Pretending as we always have.

***

«I Do Not Fear To Own Me Kin» by Robert Louis Stevenson

I DO not fear to own me kin
To the glad clods in which spring flowers begin;
Or to my brothers, the great trees,
That speak with pleasant voices in the breeze,
Loud talkers with the winds that pass;
Or to my sister, the deep grass.

Of such I am, of such my body is,
That thrills to reach its lips to kiss.
That gives and takes with wind and sun and rain

And feels keen pleasure to the point of pain.

Of such are these,
The brotherhood of stalwart trees,
The humble family of flowers,
That make a light of shadowy bowers
Or star the edges of the bent:
They give and take sweet colour and sweet scent;
They joy to shed themselves abroad;
And tree and flower and grass and sod

Thrill and leap and live and sing
With silent voices in the Spring.

Hence I not fear to yield my breath,
Since all is still unchanged by death;
Since in some pleasant valley I may be,
Clod beside clod, or tree by tree,
Long ages hence, with her I love this hour;
And feel a lively joy to share
With her the sun and rain and air,
To taste her quiet neighbourhood
As the dumb things of field and wood,
The clod, the tree, and starry flower,
Alone of all things have the power.

***

«I Thank You» by Geraldina J. Tamayo

You kept it real.
You told no lies.
I trusted your words,
And you said that it was okay to cry.
Hidden from an ocean of lies from the
People closest to me…
But you, you revealed them all.
You answered questions never asked,
And you showed no regret,
And with that I thank you!
Wishing the truth were lies,
Expecting a laugh and you telling me
That it was all a
Joke!
The truth hit me, then stabbed me, then
Killed me a thousand
Times….
I cried that night with the never ending.
Thought of the truth…
I thought I knew my life, I thought I
Understood it all…
But you opened my eyes and unwrapped
The hurtful truth…
And I thank you for being there, to hold
my hand…through it all…
And I can never thank you enough for
opening the closet of skeletons…

***

«I Wish I Knew Who I Am» by Vincent Profaci

You tell me you love me
I tell you the same
I don’t know who I am
it’s a shame it’s insane

I want to love me and you
like I love my own son
Inside I feel dead
and I’m totally numb

I prick my finger
from a rose with a thorn
A reminder that our children
are of the purest form

A mirror reflection of body we are
The more I look the more that I scar
The more that I scar the better I feel
In this crazy world that seems oh so unreal

The whole world is my stage
it helps cover my fear
For we are all merely actors
according to Shakespeare

When I speak of the truth it feels like a noose
That’s slowly stretching my neck
And then when I lie the noose opens wide
And postpones the decent to my death

I feel so amused or maybe confused
Of the thoughts that run through my head
It’s just so unfair with these thoughts I compare
My whole life I just can’t stay ahead

Is it me, is it you
Is it life, is it truth
Is it destiny or time
Is it yours, is it mine

I don’t know, but I hope it comes soon
Because it HURTS

***

«Lively Hope And Gracious Fear» by William Cowper

I was a grovelling creature once,
And basely cleaved to earth:
I wanted spirit to renounce
The clod that gave me birth.

But God hath breathed upon a worm,
And sent me from above
Wings such as clothe an angel’s form,
The wings of joy and love.

With these to Pisgah’s top I fly
And there delighted stand,
To view, beneath a shining sky,
The spacious promised land.

The Lord of all the vast domain
Has promised it to me,
The length and breadth of all the plain
As far as faith can see.

How glorious is my privilege!
To Thee for help I call;
I stand upon a mountain’s edge,
O save me, lest I fall!

Though much exalted in the Lord,
My strength is not my own;
Then let me tremble at His word,
And none shall cast me down.

***

«Loneliness» by Lily Rae

You come in waves
And suffocate me sweetly.
When I think I’m okay,
You sneak in discreetly.

Each time we meet
You wear a new face.
Always different,
You know how to greet me.

You fill me up
Just to pour me out
Into a sea full of agony
Disguised as bittersweet beauty.

My hands grow cold,
Eyes grow weary.
So sad I hurt the ones
Who love me dearly.

Nights become days,
And the days grow long,
A never-ending
Melancholy song.

***

«Look Not In My Eyes, For Fear» by Alfred Edward Housman

Look not in my eyes, for fear
Thy mirror true the sight I see,
And there you find your face too clear
And love it and be lost like me.
One the long nights through must lie
Spent in star-defeated sighs,
But why should you as well as I
Perish? gaze not in my eyes.

A Grecian lad, as I hear tell,

One that many loved in vain,
Looked into a forest well
And never looked away again.
There, when the turf in springtime flowers,
With downward eye and gazes sad,
Stands amid the glancing showers
A jonquil, not a Grecian lad.

***

«Love And Fear» by Ana Monnar

Love and fear are both so powerful
Are you able to be joyful?
Do you enjoy your honey’s passion?
To others show compassion
Love is unconditional
It is also continuously nutritional
Does infatuation lead to excitement?
Satisfaction, happiness, contentment
Bliss, delight, affection, love
Never is love neglectful of

Is fear, pain or danger?
Pain from a loved one or a stranger
Do you fear being alone
Are you concerned of the unknown?
Do you fear loosing your vanity?
Or dread loosing your sanity
Jealousy is envy of others’ possessions
Or possibly their professions
Are you fearful you might stumble?
Or exchange blows in a rumble

***

«Not Time To Worry» by K.E Lufkin

It’s not time to worry yet;
not even as screams loom above ash.
It’s not time to worry,
not even as bullets splinter glass.

It’s not time to worry yet;
though we barely make it by.
It isn’t time to worry
because it isn’t time to die.

You don’t have to worry
because you don’t have to fight.
Today it is our battle,
we haven’t gotten to the night.

It seems its always day here
because the fighting never stops.
We never go to sleep here,
we’re afraid to call the shots.

It isn’t time to worry yet;
that’s what dad said as he left.
It isn’t time to worry
but he hasn’t come back.

***

«O Fear» by Anisha Joseph

You made me run away
from those who loved me anyway.
You pushed me down into the vanity,
blindfolded me from every reality.

I thought I wasn’t good enough.
You made my existence so tough.
O fear, now I realize, it was all a bluff,
and you have already played enough.

I lost many opportunities,
and now that I am sure of my priorities,
I believe I will break through
as life always gives a next chance to you.

Remember to rise up, and it’s okay to fall.
This world around you can’t define you at all.
Be courageous, have an ambition.
Be ready to go beyond every limitation.

Building a wall of fear
will keep you in the dark forever,
keeping you unaware of
what you are capable of.

***

«Paranoia» by John Raines

I know you’re there.
Lurking in the darkness of the night,
Cowering in the shadows, avoiding the light,
Crouched behind the curtain or hid beneath the bed,
Awaiting the chance to dive into my head.

I know you’re there.
With your bloodshot eyes aglowing, never showing,
Watching me with a hunger, all the while knowing
I fear you most when the daylight’s gone,
With seemingly endless hours til morning’s dawn.

I know you’re there.
With your black heart pounding in your leathery chest,
Knowing too well I’ll get no rest
As you prowl my room like a ghostly haunt,
I know it’s my soul that you need and want.

I know you’re there.
You demon from Hell. I know you can tell
My fears are growing and beginning to swell
Like a ticking time bomb about to explode.
You sit patiently with your evils to unload.

I know you’re there.
You pitiless beast, ready to feed
On my every thought, on my every deed
I can feel you staring, glaring, carrying out your scheme
To enter my mind through an open dream.

I know you’re there.
No noise you make as you devise a plan for my soul to take
Back to the land of the living dead before I awake.
I won’t sleep, I won’t close an eye
As soon as I do I know I’ll die.

I know you’re there.

***

«Sea Of Pain & Fear» by Chris Boyles

If the sea could speak of broken heart and tears
if each wave could speak of shared pain and fears.
Will it tell of lost lives never to return home again
will it tell of sad faces sitting silently there in the rain.
Each crescendo of the waves against the rocks
feeling the pain of each life and all its hard knocks.
The rolling waves beneath the golden sunshine
the tide ebbs taking away tears of yours and mine.
Returning with the pull of the sun like a magnet
full of hope and beauty nothing does the sea regret.

For by the sea as you sit there and contemplate
will you fear no selfishness, ignorance or even hate.
As the sea breeze crosses your face and tears
so the sea beckons to take away all pain and fears.

***

«She Wears My Shoes» by Kathy Russell

She rode on my wings,
shared her dreams,
and lit my life with such a glow.
I was her protector, teacher and friend,
and will be her mother until my end
I made a lot of mistakes not knowing the cost in the end,
I never intended to hand down the same shoes my mother handed me.
But I see that is what I did. 
And crushing all her dreams.
It has been over four years since we have last spoken,
but never a day passes that I don’t send my love to the stars above,
and ask for an Angel to open up their wings
and take my place and guide her to follow all her dreams.
She will always have a place in my heart that will never be replaced,
This is how a mother’s love was always meant to be.
I hope that someday our paths will cross again,
and I can hold her in my arms
and tell her I understand better than she could ever know
I understand what I did in passing the shoes to her.
If I could take it all back, believe me I would.
But, for now it’s out of my hands.

***

«Silent Fear» by Amanda Testino

Her face in fright silently waiting,
Conscious conflicts strong enough to lose her sanity,
The feeling of guilt and responsibility,
The games they play they play silently,

She waits with lighted cigarette thinking of possibilities,
Perhaps out of existence there is a strong sense of right and wrong,
Here, all that exists are bodies blood and raw,
Afternoon comes slowly to sleep is fear,

They fight for freedom for it is better to fight and die than live under oppression and fear,
Young men waiting, survivors they are,
Perhaps they survive as the chopper comes,

Those survivors are shot, shot on the ground,
Fear of dying silently waits, you light a cigarette waiting for the break of day.

«Song: Fear Of Flying» by David Smith White

I’m trapped on an island, I know I can’t leave.
My grim fear of flying is like a disease.
Flights of the fancies, fly high and fly free;
but flights of hysteria, tremble the knees.

Bottles of water and brim jars of gel,
scare the bejesus with tall tales of hell.
Box cutters and nutters in trim apparel;
the devils and demons and all the hard sell.

I’m not a good flyer. A coward I be.
I’m hostage to panic as a cruel fate decrees.
I’m twitchy and hyper and so ill at ease,
I’m an ‘object of interest’ to airport police.

Ethnic profiling and big brother sleaze.
Mercenary spying and a degrading striptease.
The corporate surveillance that red flags the breeze;
my grim fear of flying is like a disease.

Lipstick and toothpaste and all things that smell
like the odd dirty secret, or the IM text well.
What’s next? Fly naked, so we all could just tell,
how real is the threat, that we so need dispel?

I’m not a good flyer. A coward I be.
No vestige of courage still remains to appease.
But the colours of terror are ramped up by degrees,
and my grim fear of flying is like a disease!

***

«Sonnet 9: Is It For Fear To Wet A Widow’s Eye» by William Shakespeare

Is it for fear to wet a widow’s eye,
That thou consum’st thy self in single life?
Ah, if thou issueless shalt hap to die,
The world will wail thee like a makeless wife.
The world will be thy widow and still weep,
That thou no form of thee hast left behind,
When every private widow well may keep,
By children’s eyes, her husband’s shape in mind.
Look what an unthrift in the world doth spend
Shifts but his place, for still the world enjoys it;

But beauty’s waste hath in the world an end,
And kept unused the user so destroys it.
No love toward others in that bosom sits
That on himself such murd’rous shame commits.

***

«The Abuse» by Sammi Jo

When I was little you abused me in every way
you hurt me and didn’t care because you felt no
shame.

When I was little I didn’t know what you were
doing wasn’t okay.

When I was little I would cry myself to sleep
I would try to hide the tears and try to hide
from the pain.

Bruises all over, no more lies to cover up
now no one to talk to because of the pain.

Finally one day I came to a crossroad
do I tell or just stay hidden beneath the covers all day?

You now are in prison, but I still feel the pain
I don’t want to cry anymore because it’s tearing me
down…

So for you, dear daddy, I won’t shed another tear

the end

***

«The Fear Of Fear» by Samah Khan

Fear is not what I am afraid of.
True, it is a frightful thing to fear;
But the fear of fearing fear is overwhelming
Especially when its form becomes sheer

Fear is like losing a tree of shade on a bristling day
Or losing your breath when you fall below the sea;
I fear this fear of fearing these fears
And it is this fear that is part and parcel of me.

Fear is like loving without being loved back,
Fear is like leaving without being left;
And the fear of loving and leaving and being loved and being left
Is opposed by the fear of not fearing anything
And being an empty vase, noisy and bereft

I fear not death nor do I fear life,
But I fear the fear of both as my peers;
If I could release one fear from my fears
It would be the fear of fearing these fears.

***

«The Fear Of The Fear» by Francis Duggan

With each passing day the end of my life’s journey to me draws near
But it is not death but the fear of it that i do fear
And though the praises of a noble death the singer may sing
The fear of the fear can be a fearful thing

Whether we are buried or cremated our ashes in an urn
From Nature we came and to her we will return
We are born of a woman from the sperm of a man
And the longest lived human life of time not a long span

We all have our fears and our fears are our own
And my fear of death is fear of the unknown
Though many believe that post bodily death good souls have wings to fly
To a heavenly place somewhere beyond the sky

None will ever say of me that i did die brave
For a glorious death is something i do not crave
I was born as a mortal like the cow or the sheep
And i hope for to die without pain as i sleep.

***

«The Hunter Of Utterance Of Destruction» by Bet Dotson

He’s the hunter of utterance of destruction
He sleeps when I’m awake
I long to hear him whisper
To give my ears a break

His tongue is a loaded gun
Its barrel as cold as ice
And late at night when I am sleeping
His bullets strike me twice

His throat is stuck with reason
As he pulls back on his bow
He listens for a heartbeat
A sound he yearns to know

He’s the hunter of utterance of  destruction
His target is a life
And when he sees me breathing
He sharpens every knife

His finger’s on the trigger
As I’m reaching for a pail
For all my blood to drain into
For to quench him in his hell

He’s the hunter of utterance of destruction
In confidence he soars
With every word that’s uttered
Through every vein that pours

There’s too much information
Too much noise in his brain
Then he digs a grave to put me in
When he sees that I’ve been slain

He’s the hunter of utterance of  destruction
His voice is dark and deep
And death is all around him
When his words have gone to sleep

***

«The Secrets We Hide» by Tiffany Franklin

We struggle to have meaning
in this world, which we all know.
We try, but yet we wonder
where we all should go.
Hidden in the questions,
we cannot find
the answers. They’re are all hidden
deep inside our minds.
Hidden in our soul
is the life we try to hide,
but in time it will find you,
and it will release
all of its secrets hidden beneath,
so before it ruins the life you have made,
release those dark secrets,
and the memories will fade.
Hidden in our lives are stories left untold
of the things we didn’t want them to know,
but once you tell somebody
and make your feelings known,
the struggle will be over
and you’ll finally be home.

***

«The Way I Fear» by Robert Rorabeck

The way I fear
Her hand enjoys being held
In the nest of his fingers….
The way I fear
Her eyes make wishes to
See his reflection attracted
Toward her,
Like skipping stones
On a lake nearby he lies her down….
The way I fear

The conjunction of their lips,
The hybrid adjective expressing
The way they feel….
The way I fear
The secret compression of love’s
Bodies entwining the chains
Of their swings together
As they kiss….
The way I fear the pact
Between lovers

The new seasons in which
She grows away from me
To meet him by the old
Aqueduct clothed in mussels
And green algae
Glowing, the only light
That lies upon two bodies,
Taking a tumble on the whispering beach
The finest sport of humanity
That for its while defeats Death,
The silenced, senseless body
In the coffin
With it’s name in stone no one
Remembers
The way I fear

***

«Traffic Light» by Linda Grantham

This traffic light inside my head
Is always green and never red.
My thoughts, my dreams, and all my fears,
They all speed past my listening ears.

I close my eyes to block it out,
But inside my head they rush about.
I take a breath to slow it down,
But upon my face appears a frown.

My heart beats fast,
But my breathing slows.
I breathe in life
Then out it goes.

My body’s numb,
Yet I feel my tears.
I’ve lost count of the days,
The months, and the years.

This traffic light
Inside my head…
I’m scared of the day
When it turns red.

***

«Twinkle, Twinkle Little Fear» by Hanna Eardley

Fear is the strangest thing,
as it comes from within our heads.
But that don’t stop it tucking us in
when we’re safe within our beds.

What is it that you fear the most?
Is it the dark or lightning strikes?
What is it that you fear the most?
Is it the water, the greatest of heights?

For me, my biggest fear would be
losing that thing that we call “light.”
Not in the sense of being in dark,
but the kind that helps you fight.

That light you find within your eye,
the one that makes it twinkle…
That would be my biggest fear,
not to have that ’round to sprinkle.

I have used it on many a time
to pull myself back from the brink.
It scares me that one day I’ll need it
but it won’t be there, you think?

When I think of when I’ve used it,
I don’t see where the victim has been.
I see the end, when I climbed back out.
I see the strength that I found within.

But the twinkle is where it came from.
One day, lookin’ in the mirror to see,
passed the spots and the wrinkles,
to that twinkle staring back at me.

It is the twinkle that has lit my soul.
It’s the twinkle that showed my way.
Every time I had laid down to die,
that twinkle gave me another day.

So, without it would I notice
the person who hides in crowds?
Without that light to guide me,
would I end up amongst the clouds?

I fear that one day my twinkle
will cease to appear to me.
I fear that one day my twinkle
will not be there to help me see.

I fear I will have used it up
and that you only get so much.
And one day, when I need it again,
it won’t be there to use as such.

So, that would be my biggest fear,
to wake up one day to find
that I’ve used up all my twinkle,
and I’d stay trapped within my mind.

***

«Waiting For Truth» by Lilli Janzen

Wait, you say, but I want to know.
Wait, you say, but it’s just so slow.
Do I need to live with the questions
Or simply wait for your confession?

Who are you really in your mind?
Is it the key I need to find?
Do I accurately read your face,
Or is your grin quite out of place?

These answers won’t just come too soon,
And I just wonder how many moons.
You’ll keep me deeply in suspense,
Inviting questions more intense.

You have your reasons, I can tell
But waiting seems a living hell.
But I’m afraid to know the truth,
And knowing this I feel abused.

I know that rushing does no good,
And patience just may prove it would
Help me live with the unknown
Until the truth will then be known.

But truth arrives with revelation
That makes us contemplate our station.
Sometimes it’s better just to wait
Till we are fit to change our state.

May Spirit help us in our quest
To hear and understand the rest.
Once we are clear to know the truth
Life will advance and be more smooth.