I allow myself to fall on my face

Along with time to play and have fun

To experience, explore, sometimes less chaste

Getting a little scared in each place

 

Just like when I was a little boy

When challenge was encouraged and enjoyed

Allowing my will to be stronger

Than fear which lasts shorter than longer

 

My survival of such is never in doubt

As it never consumes me fully, rather savored slow

Allowing strength with each breath to grow

In the fact that I am here for a reason

 

Something to learn, nurture, a way to strive

To swim within the choppy waters of one’s mind

Beyond the fear of failure and that of being scared

Embracing success where others have despaired

 

Knowing that no matter what happens to me

I will still allow my little kid inside

To play, to stretch, to challenge, to strive

To fall, to cry, to feel loss, to feel alive

 

To suffer, to rejoice, to exalt in glory

Enjoy every moment’s own purity

Its own beauty, its own divinity

Its own hunger to make one’s life a better story

 

For simply being in that moment in that space

Projecting pure joy across one’s innocent face

No matter where one is, whether in a lull

Or engaged in a grip on the horns of a bull

 

Or sharing myself in such pleasant company

Within the arms and breath of those I trust

To be willing to be scared, I say “Yes, I must!”

Within efforts to sow lasting camaraderie

 

I will share of myself at the risk of being let down

For this is where I am least likely to frown

Where I contribute to my world without resistance

To make each sunrise a better existence

 

 

Risking the chance of misfortune to strike true

Within the depths of my sufficient resolve

Allowing the lowering of too much of my guard

The chance of joy within that moment discard

 

Any fear of rejection that exists or hurt that I might bear

In the pursuit of unconditional expression of me

I hold no anger for long, nor the desire to despair

In things done by the powers of others’ divinity

 

It is bravery at the risk of looking foolish

It is courage in the face of being rejected

It is not enough to stare fear deep in the eye

You must vanquish the demon with all your might

 

For hopes of blissful fortunes heed a call to aspirations

Perhaps fleeting, maybe temporal, possibly more

But the chance of awaking with such vivid inspirations

Is worth the risk of feeling more alone than before

 

Without one’s beauty to wake with next to me

Without another’s smile making mornings easy

Moments of failure for an hour, week, month, maybe more

Is worth the pursuit of bliss without inhibition

 

Experienced with people that one does trust

Respects, amplifies and wants to be remain around

Simplicity in the company of a harmonious sound

A happiness foreign, borne from divinity’s dust

 

And an acceptance that one holds so preciously

Would never think to take lightly, let alone trade

Even in life’s pratfall, pitfall or other frailty

As the dooming alternative leaves one in desperate solitude

 

This is the value of a kind human touch

The fervor one holds to feel comfort from a gentle voice

That possesses strength and power and might

In a future filled with love if time is so inclined

 

And if not, sadness may prevail in times of weakness

Angst, anguish, disappointment – all a part of one’s humanity

As the boy within plays harder, hoping such people never leave

And that’s all he has to know for that moment

 

 

Drawing from one’s well such capacity to care

For those he holds dear, navigating through fear

Of a day where the demon will have his day

Lying in wait in the vestiges of one’s divinity

 

The kid within wants playtime to continue

With all he cares to hold dear no matter the venue

As he savors them more than treasure’s bright shine

Fears conquered and cast to the bellies of swine

 

No fear too great to dispel, nor levels of grandiose sought

No air too rarified, nor desires oozing of decadence

For fear of anything only has as much credence

As the energy one uses to maintain and keep taught

 

Pursuit is relentless for people to hold that dear

Too many to enumerate, the kid within won’t count that high

No need for probability to make things more clear

All he wants are those with no fear to fly in one’s mind

 

Smiles on faces, painted within these minds’ eyes

Having fun, growing together, feeling secured

Where fear has nowhere to rear its ugly head

In a setting where happiness timelessly resides

 

 

Eric Burns

© June 23, 2009