Risking Everything

by heather321

Published February 28, 2012

In Poems

Courage is risking a crash to the ground
               as you let go of your balance support
               and take your first wobbly step
It’s risking water in your eyes and nose
              as you take off your life jacket
              and thrash wildly around in the water
It’s risking embarrassment
              as you walk into that first day of kindergarten
              and try to make some friends
It’s risking a car accident
              as you turn the key
              and drive for the first time
It’s risking making a fool of yourself
              as you show up to your first job interview
              and nervously try to appear confident  
Courage is risking everything
              to follow your dreams
Comments & reviews · 1
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sarebear
Review
sarebear wrote a review Review · Feb 28, 2012

Hi heather,

The first thing I'd like to say is that I really like this piece! It is sincere without being cheesy, and you've done a good job using examples that everyone can relate to. Each of your sub-stanzas is specific to the emotion and specific to the reader--I know that while I related more to some of them than others I related to all of them in some way. Technically, I think that your poem is basically flawless. You don't need punctuation here and I honestly don't think that it would add to the poem. I liked the way that you indented--it is very nice without making it more difficult for the reader to read your poem as a single unit.

My only critique, and it's mostly because I want to have something to say, is your ending. It is good, but I am a little mixed about it. The rest of your poem manages to be so non-cheesy, not making any statements, that I found that having and ending like this brought me back to the world of the normal writer. I wish you would make your ending creative like the rest of the work. However, I don't dislike the ending either, so if you feel strongly about it, by all means, keep it.

So basically, I really liked this. I like the way you have written it, and I love the way you have presented it. If you have questions, please let me know! Nice work!

~Sare

Thanks for the review!



If a nation loses its storytellers, it loses its childhood.
— Peter Handke