Fear

ˈfir

noun – an unpleasant emotion caused by the threat of danger, pain, or harm.
verb – be afraid of (someone or something) as likely to be dangerous, painful, or harmful.

i twist as i fall

i twist as i fall 
and cling to the rumor that 
there is no bottom

i conquer my fear 
by submitting daily to 
its bitter wisdom

how much misery 
derives from evils that will 
never come to pass

what is more lofty 
than for a hundred men to 
march forward to death

i remind myself 
that i am not descended 
from cowardly men

i can imagine
anything i want on the
other side of fear

my fear sows the seeds
of brambles that bind my heels
and obscure my path

i stand before you
and speak without fear because
i read every day

courage has value
to the exact extent that
fear opposes it

fear taught man to shape
dark howling winter into
the dog at his hearth