Intrepidity

Intrepidity
courage
isn't something you can
drink from a bottle
display in muscle
shout with words
glare with eyes
buy at a store
pop in a pill
or even learn
not even
in the military
not with machineguns
not with swords
not with fists
not from friends
not from enemies
not from mentors
no matter how hard you
demand
desire
train

no

courage
doesn't work like that
neither is it
the absence of fear
the absence of care
the absence of knowledge

courage
is something
we aspire to
we yearn to
we hope to
is something
we can't touch
we can't hear
we can't know
before it happens

but

in trying to be courageous
sometimes
we forget who we are
sometimes
we think we are more than what we are
sometimes
we have to bring everything down to the size we are
in order to
realize
embody
manifest
courage

what size?
nation, state, corporation?
city, community, neighborhood?
friends, family, home?
no

self

that is the right size
anything more
just brings us further
from our truth
our Truth
Truth
is where courage
lives