Naked Truth

To give up,
suffer defeat,

Or…

To surrender,
giving oneself
to that which one is.

Such is our choice of destiny,
of willingness to live
embracing pain,
realizing pleasure,
accepting paradox.
our potential beyond the obvious.

Yet…

So many,
the woman on the bus,
the homeless astride his belongings-bag,
the maimed veterans,
the wounded innocents
existing without a cause.

Much of humanity is shamelessly ignorant,
of little consciousness
without principles
hiding in secure bubbles of denial’s defense,
delusional insulation from the harsh realities.

Yet…

The courageous fearful,
give of themselves,
immerse into a strangers’ world of hopelessness,
discover the often-elusive core of humanity,
where survival relies on trusting,
void of discrimination and bigotry,
where to be a volunteer is both revered,
and feared.

To give up,
or surrender.

To remain in delusional security,
or break away from fear’s seduction,
is to venture outside the tenuous safety
providing captivity, not shelter,
imprisoning who we might be,
who we might have been.
who we might become.

So go they must

these everyday heroes,
where naked truth
knows not hiding.