For Fear

If you only knew
That the horrors which bare their teeth from the shadows
Bare them not
Because they feel superior
And because they wish to consume you,
But rather,
Because they are afraid
And they are blinded
By the light which you cast
Into their world of only themselves,
In which the natural light
Has often lost its glow.

And how those who cower amongst them look
Up to you
In your undefeated
But battle-weary
Posture not
Of self-defeat,
But of a will to find a way
Which might lead to anything but
The loss
Of what matters most of all:
Your heart,
My dear,
And all that it represents,
All that it has felt,
And all that is has allowed
Encouraged
Forced
Others to feel;
For it is what they feel
And not who you are
That elicits those reactions:
Bared teeth and
Beaten
Chests.

For fear
Lies
Deep in the darkest valley of the heart,
And yours is open and true,
The lows and highs visible all the same,
Fear but an undercurrent
Which may be provoked as such to be experienced
By those whose valleys are only trod
When the peaks are too difficult to traverse.