This poem is especially for Howard P.
COURAGE
Cowards
are we all,
Who easy choices
make.
Fear whispers
In every ear,
Few choose not,
To heed.
Seldom to us
Is given
Greatness.
Yet,
It is not
The Grand Acts
That make us
Great.
Rather,
Small choices,
Carved out of despair;
Forged in pain:
Choosing life’s
Hurtful embrace.
Not for other’s
Scant approval,
But for
Self;
We do that
Which we
Must do.
Living for
Ourselves
Is never
Easy;
We stand
Alone,
Balanced
At the Edge.
Giving no thought
To others,
We fall among
The Uncaring;
Heeding too much
Another’s call,
We Join
The Sheeplike masses.
And, yet
ALL this knowing,
We DARE
To say,
“I CHOOSE.”
© 1987, 2009 Lyle T. Lachmuth, All Rights Reserved Adapted from “New Cycles” by permission of the Author
