Our world spins on the axis of a single moment when
the common man makes his choice,
resolves his course on earth
or fails to act at all. The courage
of one, the cowardice of another,
changes everything.

With risk that seems rash and reckless, brave men
dare to dive deep to save a stranger,
fly far for fledgling friendships.
With unassuming valor, such heroes remind
us to abandon fear of losing face and love
and love again.

Careful, cautious, the coward shrinks, slinks away
into swamp to hide. He refuses to see
those who drown in the wake
of his hurried abandonment, often
the ones who need him most but
know him least.

For those of bold spirit and self-sacrificing heart,
it is matter of trust: Adam’s atoms
are assured some arrangement
in Afterlife and life East of Eden
calls us to bear a brother’s burden,
share a sister’s sorrow.

The spineless bunch, pricked by fear, run afraid,
flee to save their own hides, damn
the consequences far and wide.
Worried heaven won’t take them
as they are, they can’t lose the time,
spare the change.

Courage sees clearly what it must sacrifice
to secure the Spring. Cowardice
steals furtive glances through
hazel uncertainty, searches
for some reason not to risk the Fall
or cold, hard ground that may
follow on its heels.

Live or die, the brave go on in the many who follow
in their footsteps of humility.
The coward, on the other hand,
staggers, stumbles ’neath the weight
of a choice never made; wanton pride
an albatross ‘round his neck
at a crushing depth.

The courageous one is a man of clay, unafraid of fire
or the way his world might change.
The cowardly one is a man of stone,
petrified – scared stiff of losing
order, control of what he has
worked so hard to gain, terrified
of love and pain.