The Purpose of Fear

fear, pervasive fear

great weaver of our woes

you stop the heart

blacken the treads

and clench us amidst your throes

you hold us back

but we need you

you tell us we can’t

when we must

because it’s precisely by disobeying you

that in ourselves we learn to trust

fear, pervasive fear

sapper of strength and fight

if our resolve could be any stronger

it’s because you’ve created our plight

for fear is the path of the warrior

of the timid and arrogant, too

fear shapes the destinies of all of us

our lessons not away, but through