By Andrew R. Duckworth
Not everything from nature
Is of value.
Observe the chimpanzee and see-
Warring factions over resources
Until they make themselves tribes
And fight to fight,
Forgetting why they were fighting.
When you see the rattlesnake
Coiled near your garden,
Do you present your hand
For it to strike?
And what of the rattlesnake,
Fearful of a strange new presence
Intruding upon its claimed land?
Ask anyone what their biggest fear is
And you will most likely receive
A response that makes little sense.
It isn’t just heights!
Be more specific!
“I am deeply afraid of falling off
A mountainside platform in China.”
And who told you that you must stand
On this particular platform?
“I am deeply afraid
Of being swallowed by the sea
In a shipwreck.”
And who told you that you must sail
The open ocean?
Should you choose to conquer
These fears, good!
But what brought the fear to your
Doorstep?
Poetry and Essays of Andrew Ryan Duckworth 