John Anderson Poet Free verse

Notes About The Poem

Fear is seen as a reaction to a specific, observable danger, while anxiety is seen as a diffuse, a kind of unfocused, object-less, future-oriented feeling or foreboding. Worry about dying is more likely to take the form of nagging anxiety than a specific fear of dying in a particular way. Anxiety has diverse forms linked to an array of emotional states such as doubt, boredom, mental conflict, shyness, stress, disappointment, bashfulness, self-abasement. This diverse array can set you up for fears. The goal of therapy is to reduce anxiety, not eliminate it. See https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/science-choice/201812/anxiety-vs-fear

Listen to poem:

To Fell Fear Quell Anxiety

In the crowd the anxious feeling was contagious.
There was a general feeling of disquiet.
A foreboding loomed, that something pending, might happen.
Cornered eyes darted around fleeting expectant.
Then, someone yelled: "Fire!", "Fire!"
The crowd panicked, instant stampede for exits, disaster!
Did anyone look for smoke?
Did anyone smell any smoke in the air?
Did anyone see a flame?
Did anyone hear a fire alarm go off?
The heightened anxiety quelled any delay to react.

On another day when the crowd was less anxious,
and anxiety was much less held in common in the crowd, 
the outcome could be different, a matter of time and expectation.
People would have taken their time to use their senses,
To confirm if the fear was real and whether a reaction was justified and when.
Time to poise, and take stock of the situation
before the 'fight or flight' was triggered.
Fear is also less contagious, 
when anxiety is less infectious and inflamed.

Anxiety is anticipation of a threat that might happen.
We fear the threat of what might happen, 
when that known anxiety is realised and comes to fruition.
Fear requires a trigger and a finger to squeeze thereon.
Anxiety is just the gun in the cupboard or holster.
So to fell the fear one needs to quell one's anxiety
Put away the gun, lock it up, throw away the key.
Learn to know your anxieties 
carried as 'troubles in the old kit bag',
Learn how to put them down, throw them away, 
bury them deep into the realms of the unknown.
For fear is anxieties known.
Fear erupts from threats
Emits from anxiety, that you know you know
are threats: real, silly, dire, fake, inherited, inapt, inept.
Threats to be or not to be, never to be.
So, to fell fear, quell anxiety!

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