Courage

Courage

Pictures of soldiers firing guns,
Politicians shaking hands.
“Heroes” helping the needy,
Filling their own pockets all the while.
These are the images of courage,
This is what we are supposed to be.
Preached to naïve and curious children,
Telling them to reach for dreams that are not their own.
Failures are those who choose to rebel,
And cowards are those who disagree.
It takes courage to be something that you are not,
It takes hard work to build up a false face.
No.

Courage is waking up with a struggling life,
And getting up to live anyway.
One foot in front of the other,
Never stopping to complain of despair.
Courage is facing everything that is wrong,
But choosing to smile about what is right.
And chasing the dreams that keep you up at night,
Instead of running to ones that you’d rather pass by.
Courage is loving others when it’s easier to hate,
And letting go when you’d rather hold on.
But most of all it’s finding every reason to give up,
And finding just one reason to stay.

-TLM