the rats ate away the gowns of honor
the rust ate away the glitters of the crown
the years ate away the smoothness of skin
out of terror,
none touched the fierce spirit
the spirit of a hero.

I did not have a chance to reach higher in studies,
I did not have a mama around to encourage me,
I did not have a baba to support me,
These are just the few courageous words I grew up with.

To realize they were words of wisdom,
To lift me up when I am down,
To raise my spirit and determination towards my goal,
Mama, my precious mama, I THANK you.

For all the troubles me and my siblings put you and baba through,
Not to say how many fights to hold our family tight,
How many things you had to sacrifice for us,
The tears,pain and sweat you hid from us,
Mama, my beautiful mama, I APPRECIATE you.

If it was not for your words,
If it was not for your smiles,
If it was not for your strength,
I would not have been the me that I am today,
Mama, my amazing mama, you are my HERO.

To the woman I have become,
To the values I hold thee,
To the morals you taught me,
To the lessons you schooled me,
Mama, my first LIFE teacher, I LOVE YOU.

As children, we are told to be a Beowulf.
To be brave and to put others before ourselves,
To be the strongest and the best,
We are told to be the perfect hero.

In this day and age, it is never really okay to make mistakes, even if they say it is.
We have a drive within us that being the best and the strongest is our only option.
We put the pressure on ourselves to be the Beowulf, which only causes us to wake up the Grendel.

But the real problem is, we are ashamed of that.
We are ashamed of fear, which causes us to act out and create evil.
But when you think about it, what is bravery without fear.
Because the truth is, no one is ever going to be one-hundred percent a Beowulf.

All of us have a little Grendel inside, it’s called being human.
We yell, we scream, we scare each other,
We lie, we cheat, we judge.
We are vicious and hurtful with our words.
At times, we see no light in our hearts,
We let evil win.
We are often so far from perfect.
In fact, the Grendel in me is sometimes more prominent than the Beowulf,
But we have to realize that sometimes, that’s okay.

You see, if not for the Grendel in me, the Beowulf wouldn’t know it’s true strength.
For the Beowulf in me, within all of us, would not fight nearly as hard, because it would have nothing to overcome.
The point isn’t to be ashamed of the Grendel within,
The point is to keep pushing through so the Grendel doesn’t win.
Do not isolate yourself and hide away in the depths of darkness when you can’t seem to find the light.
Find the Beowulf within yourselves,
Embrace it’s fierce loyalty and drive to destroy evil.
Welcome the light within you,
If you do that, you will win the war within yourself.

To all those out there desperately trying to be the hero:
Accept that losing the battle sometimes is okay,
Try your best to win the war,
But do not take on that army alone,
Because the person who fights with no one by their side is bound to lose eventually.

Because how can you be a hero, when you have no one by your side?

why have you gone now
when I need you so
why have you left me here
left me all alone

why did you leave
you were my warrior here
why have you gone now
you fought away my fears

the only thought that comes to
was that heaven needed a hero
a hero like you

Leverage for an escape
The fearest of them all
Last time he wore a cape
The dearest of them all

Perished, in dirt and blood
Vanished, from hearts and hoods

You witnessed nothing but the lies
Impossible to believe,
Still awakening the witnesses
They don't seem to believe.