she ventured out into the void
and came back with a prize
i garnered notoriety
and used that to be wise —
we each had our vicissitudes
and troubles to surmount
but i believed in fear, and so
i didn’t make time count
it’s not the fear that shielded us,
i knew that as a friend —
it’s not the fear that warned us,
for i kept that to the end —
no, twas the fear that kept me still
when life’s glad fingers beckoned —
yes, i believed in fear, and got
a lot less than
i reckoned
[Lessons come two ways: 1) the hard way; or 2) not at all. – Owen]