Fear holds us hostage to our potentials
Indifferent to our worth or credentials
Afraid to risk or chance
To move forward or advance
Dread leads to stagnant indignation
Stuck in a rut of pure frustration
Fearful of losing face
Of failures and disgrace
Fear keeps us prisoner of our choice
To meek to speak out with truthful voice
Concerned least we be judged
And our characters be smudged
Stuck captive in our unfounded fears
Afraid to set forth to new frontiers
Keeping safe without extremes
Never realizing our dreams
Life is short there is no question
Live life fully without digression
Move forward when you fear most
Raise your glass to life
and make a toast
Author notes
I was inspired to enter this contest, as I have experienced things in life, that has made me realise that fear really does hold us back. Letting go of fear is the most liberating thing a person can do for themselves. Sometimes, we hold back out of unfounded fear, and then something happens that makes us challenge those fears and we realise that we are stronger, more resiliant and capable than we ever thought possible. This is what this poem is all about!!
Written October 16th, 2006
A contest entry
- Show Me Your Fear!!!! by Asylaarix.
500 points, ended December 14, 2006, 13 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Fear by brokenpoet.
300 points, ended December 22, 2006, 37 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Life is ... what? by BobbyJean.
300 points, ended January 6, 2007, 12 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Options!! Lots of `em by Maybe Anastasia.
390 points, ended May 8, 2007, 36 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Prewrite Phenomenon #6 by Ryno.
300 points, ended April 19, 2007, 15 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Fear by Zerstort.
570 points, ended August 23, 2008, 16 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Out Rhyme Rakerman1 by piccola.
900 points, ended June 6, 58 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 21 of 21
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Good
Fear does indeed rob us of opportunity, potential and peace. Our goal should never be to eliminate fear, but to overcome it....It is here that true heroism is found.
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Magnificent
This is really nice. The last stanza is my favourite. -
Magnificent
This is really nice. The last stanza is my favourite.
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Honest all the way
Wow, this is so true. Fear does hold us beck. Yes it does hold us from doing bad things, but what about good things? Fear of being rejected or made fun of...It is true. Great poem. Well written.
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I like this one. It's only too true. Living in fear is no way to live life. I like your rhyming scheme here. The rhymes worked well and didn't seem forced. Good job.
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Ahhhhhhh... refreshing. Beautiful messages and morals pointed out (even directly from the first lines.) Abstractly dark, because of the sudden in-your-face realities. Powerful. Thank you thank you for your entry into Prewrites6. Best wishes. Thanks for sharing.
~Ryan~ -
How true Sabindi, I've often felt that fear should be the 8th deadly sin, because it is so constricting and blinding, and simply can't exist in the same room as love and joy. Congratulations on the bronze trophy, you surely deserved it and more.
All the best,
David Michaels
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wow. great flow and rhyme. I loved it. Yes fear holds us back, my dad told me before I ran at our state finals "Fear causes hesitaion and hesitaion causes our worst fear to come true." I thought of that when I read this. this is a truly powerful write great job and thabks for the entry.
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Thanks a lot for this entry. Good luck in my contest.
BJ -
Yes, you have discovered ehat I hoped someone would! That fear does hold us back. This flows really well and has great use of rhyming.
Thanks for entering,
Melissa -
You just expressed some serious emotions here ... you really did a wonderful job keeping me interested in this piece ... I was drawn in ... and then kept there ... you have done an amazing job with imagery here ... i want to wish you the best of luck in this contest ... for you have done a beautiful job with this one ... thank you so much for your entry!
Sparkeh -
amazing!
this is an amazing write and it gives hope to us who have fear and didnt know its possible to release it! id be so much happier if i could forget my fear! great write and best of luck in the contest! ~paint. -
I'm glad the contest inspired you to write something. My notes are in italics.
Fear holds us hostage to our potentials This is very vague. Fear of what? Potential for what? HOW does fear hold someone hostage?
Indifferent to our worth or credentials Does the Narrator(N)mean that fear holds us indifferent as well? How so? What worth and what credential?
Afraid to risk or chance Again- to risk or chance what? Fear makes us afraid? That seems a bit redundant
To move forward or advance In what sense?
The first stanza is very vague and bordering on cliche. Can you show me HOW fear does this and why? Maybe it would be better to write about how fear affects N. instead of using "us" and "our". Make the reader understand what N. is going through instead of making us part of the general assumptions.
These same questions hold through the entire piece. There is no imagery, which isn't always necessary. I think the piece would benefit from metaphors and adding more concrete ideas instead of the generalizations and cliches that are there.
That being said- you have a good idea here and it should be developed. Feel free to revise and re-enter or to enter another piece. -
Your poem does not fit our submission criteria. You may enter something else, but this entry is being removed from the contest. We are looking for poetry that shows something by use of imagery.
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excellent presentation
This is a wonderful poem. Fear stops a lot of people from taking a chance on many things. It seems that every time I meet a man I like, and think I could love, they are afraid. It seems funny that a man would think he was the only one who was ever hurt from a relationship. If we don't take chances we will never find that special person.
Best wishes in the contest!
Ethereal Melody
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VERY VERY GOOD
Sabindi--Dear Marilyn--I went through all your poems looking for Hostage so decided to go through again and came up with this one. It does parallel "Dream Big And Dare To Fail" as it is so positive in thought. So many let their fears and failures hold them back from reaching their potential. Being afraid to take a chance or being concerned of the judgement of others keeps one in limbo and never lets one find their dreams. Like you say, life is short and so many never reach what they want in life by the fear of just trying. Very good write and when I get to feelling somewhat better I shall try reading more of your works. Right now I am in the midst of the worst cold I have had in years. I do think what keeps me positive is a Silva Mind Controll Course that I took about 30 years ago. During this course I was programmed to think positive and I feel this course was the best thing I ever did. I used to tell people it they took the course and did not think it was great that I would pay for it myself. Today it is listed under Silva Ultra and one can go on the internet and take a short course for free. Thanks again for your comment and may the rest of your life be the best of your life.
love and hugs
goody--Bill -
Right on the money! I completely agree. Some fears still hold me back, but most I forge forward, and have encouraged my husband to do so, too, and we have done things we have only imagined. They may not seem big in a worldly sense, but the little things count as much as the big things, such as being self-employed with our own business, or taking classes for stuff I have always wanted to do, taking chances to be who we really want to be and do what we really want to do.
Great poem.
Kimberly G. -
This was a real good poem, it touched my heart, and no doubt, I will be back to read this one again....LOL
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Excellent!
This was a brilliant piece of truth written
with simplicity and warmth.
Your admonition for the reader to face their fears
and move forward was right on.
Fear is mostly illusion. Its a negative energy
that tries to distract us from being the person
God intended us to be.
As you so brilliantly expressed in your poem,
once our backs is against the wall and we are
faced with doing something beyond our fears,
we see that we are far stronger than we thought.
Life is meant to be lived. As long as we keep a
pure heart free from hatred and unfounded bias
we can do anything our hearts desire.
I really enjoyed this poem. Great Job!
Edited on Oct 17, 4:26 p.m. because ''. -
Letting go of fear is a most liberating thing to do, although it can be quite hard to overcome fears at times. You penned this wonderfully, I loved how it flowed so rhythmically. Much luck to you in the contest!
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24KT Lady
Wonderful sentiments, wonderfully expressed!!! The title drew me in, your words held me spellbound from the first word to the last. Your first stanza is strong and sets the tone (it is also my favorite). The last stanza ends on an uplifting note of freedom. You have woven a beautiful tapestry of words. Bravo! Best wishes in the competition. This is poetry at it's very best.
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