Monday, July 31, 2017

My Friend Fear


image from olabodeskills.com 


My Friend Fear

“A man need not fear death, but rather never
beginning to live.”--Marcus Aurelius.

Fear wears
a bad reputation,
since most of us
have learned
that to be fearful
of something,
and reveal it

to others,
is a sign of
weakness
and cowardice--

but the truth
is that fear
is our friend;
albeit hyperactive,
and often
somewhat

illogical.


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub Q44

14 comments:

Sascha Darlington said...

Yes. Very perceptive. Fear in the right circumstances keeps us alive.

De Jackson said...

Ah, yes. I am familiar with this "hyperactive, illogical" friend. Love this, Glen.

AnotherFearlessYear.net said...

Fear can be a friend when it causes us to avoid overly dangerous situations. For example, I'm terrified of driving at night with no headlights and wearing a blindfold, so I'm not going to do it. ;)

Kim M. Russell said...

Oh Glenn, this is great. But we must be careful not to let everyone know that our friend fear is hyperactive, and often somewhat illogical - they might give it Ritalin!.

Victoria said...

I really like good old Marcus' quote, there. And the poem seems so balanced. Fear is an emotion and like all emotions, it comes down to what we do with it.

Frank Hubeny said...

Fear does provide us with a warning which might be realistic or might not. Perhaps better safe than sorry.

Waltermarks said...

A healthy fear can sure save your butt. I wonder how I lived past 40

Anonymous said...

In humor there is much wisdom as well as entertainment.

Maria said...

Oh this is another way of looking at fear.

lillianthehomepoet.wordpress.com said...

The quotation is a really good one. Some fears are indeed good....they can slow us down so we don't have gut reactions....they can be protective. Some can be very rational indeed. The trick is to keep living within the fear, right? Excellent take on the prompt.

indybev said...


Thank you for reminding us that fear in moderation can be a good thing. The key of course, is moderation! Well written, Glenn!

Olga said...

I think fears that come out in dreams can be very illogical and hyperactive. Once I started carrying a big stick, they've calmed down. Ha ha!

Cedarwind said...

I like this reflection on fear and how social taboos limit open expression.

Anonymous said...

Wise words.