Power

POWER


Dark words for me are words about fears, nightmares.   
I simply don’t harbor dark thoughts towards anyone, 
And  my dark feelings are to do with powerful  threats to me, 
Often  occurring when a child.  As a child  I was terrified 
Of being abandoned by my mother, because as far as I could see 
The world around her (and me) was a hostile place. I was powerless. 
School  of hard knocks : I have  never feared abandonment 
Since I was fourteen.   As a teenager I was scared of being
Pursued by gangs of maurauding toughs in the inner city.  
When you’ve been beaten up once  you’re anxious to avoid it again.
Trained then in karate and judo,  earned the power to be safe.  

I am more scared  now of being hurt accidentally 
Because I will lose work and therefore have no income
Scary because ice and snow are  more powerful than me.
Shame  is a painful  emotion  often inflicted  on powerless me at  school 
By  holier-than-thou   bigot-teachers who had not 
An ounce of  Christianity in their entire bone structure.  
I detest their actions towards me even now.  

But the motive which has driven me all my life, 
And therefore my main area of dark  thought  is fear of failure.   
This is the scariest thing to me.  I  hate to fail,  
And I take extensive steps to avoid it,  because it makes 
Me seem less in my own eyes.   As a result, I rarely fail;  
And  if  do,  I make absolutely sure it doesn’t happen again.
I will always want to have that power.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2011

Poem

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Onclaud Avatar
January 3, 2011 at 10:52 AM
lots of prose poetry today which may seem to be the pick of most poets at this time, sydney... this one shines as a stirring piece that gives voice to those who have dark fears and yet deserve the humane grace they truly deserve... bold and undaunting! a great contender in the contest! :) nette
Onclaud Avatar
January 3, 2011 at 10:52 AM
lots of prose poetry today which may seem to be the pick of most poets at this time, sydney... this one shines as a stirring piece that gives voice to those who have dark fears and yet deserve the humane grace they truly deserve... bold and undaunting! a great contender in the contest! :) nette
Devonshire Avatar
January 3, 2011 at 9:39 AM
Many children fear abandonment, Sydney, but the neighborhood of your inner city offers fears to which I'm glad I haven't been exposed. We had nuns as teachers who often displayed little humanity. I wonder if they understood what Christianity encompasses. A friend of mine has cancer and looks back upon his life thinking he was a failure. He was our valedictorian and fears he didn't live up to his expectations. Failure is also one of my greatest fears. A remarkable poem! Love, Carolyn
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