(Prompted by Poets & Storytellers United)
If frightened by dogs, grow bigger than they are,
If worried by wasps, learn to make them your friends.
If bothered by bees, then work for a beekeeper.
If socially insecure, start your own trends.
If you think you look freaky, some see it as sexy.
If you can't swim, dog-paddle around till you can.
If you can't win the game for your team, deride team sports.
Youth's and childhood's fears soon give way to a plan.
Though sooner or later all girls are molested,
We now make molesters pay dearly, in blood.
Though even rich White people live with oppression,
No one can make anyone stay in the mud.
No, I don't "scare easy," nor expect that you do.
No one lives for fifty years if bound by fear.
But there's still a cobweb that fetters my arms, when
I fear speech or action might harm someone dear.
(Fact-based, but not all my own story...Fear of insects and spiders was taught to my brother and me as children. When we were teenagers I became a wasp whisperer, and he became a beekeeper's apprentice.)
I lobe the positivity in this – and yes, it's true, potential harm to a loved one is even more scary than to oneself, and is the thing that can stop us even when we've become braver in general.
ReplyDeleteI am fascinated by the fact you became a wasp whisperer! How is that possible? What did it look like in action? (My grandpa was a beekeeper, so that is less mysterious to me, but I have always viewed wasps as very different and much more dangerous and aggressive – perhaps only because that is what I was taught.)
Oops, *love the positivity
ReplyDeleteBut lobed positivity was fun to imagine :-) Thank you for the encouragng words!
DeleteWasp whispering...depends on the species involved. Most of ours are peace-loving and not very toxic, anyway. When the first ones start flying about, they buzz at people, testing our reactions. They like people who stand still.
That's great to face your fears like that. I had to laugh though at becoming a wasp whisperer I don't like the little pests although I am not afraid of them
ReplyDeleteThat's my worst fear that people dear to me get harmed. I have lived it and it hurts more than anything.
You probably have different wasps, anyway, in Europe and New Zealand. Thank you for visiting!
DeletePK
Standing up to oppression of all kinds is truly the bravest thing to do... it takes courage to face up to our fears...I'll never become a wasp-whisperer though, stinging insects are scary! :)
ReplyDeleteWith most of ours, the secret is that they really prefer not to sting. On first contact they'll fly around you and then perch on your arm and groom their stingers, which is a threat display,, but they're bluffing. If you stand still and put up with it, you're a friend.
DeleteI'm told that some wasp species we don't have are much harder to work with than ours, though.
PK
Yes. The greatest fear is often not for ourselves but for those we hold dear.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the encouraging words.
DeletePK
Yes...keep the mind free. No one can take that away from you....Rall
ReplyDeleteExactly!
DeletePK
Such a positive poem, Rall!
ReplyDeleteSorry, Penelope. Meant for you.
DeleteSa-ra! Sa-a-a-ra-a-a! :-) Did I make a dyslexic comment on your blog? I didn't mean to.
DeletePK
Great words.
ReplyDeleteShare your views.
Would love a system that makes molesters pay automatically.
Systems don't keep "molested" from turning into "raped." Vigorous physical resistance does.
DeletePK