Day to Day

(Found here)

The heart has its thickets

and hedgerows, its rugged peaks

and slippery paths. One day

I am not afraid to step out

into the brightest clearings,

to stand there drinking in the light,

the stillness. But, next

day, hit by a storm or by a hurt

that strikes from within,

the blood halts in my veins

and I step back into shadow.

That stepping back is never

wise. If only I could learn the hard

lesson fear wants to hide

from me, the paradox that if I stand

my ground and lean

into the hurt, a new, irrepressible

jet of light and freshness

will begin to rise,

and, out of the pit of fear,

out of the heart of the storm,

a new fountain of courage.

~Paul Murray