I say again –
Fear has a vital function.
Without it our ancestors would have been eaten
By lions or sabre-toothed tigers.
We need it so survive
A terror attack
Or any physical threat.

Yet in modern days even mild anxiety
Has little use:
Filling us with Cortisol and Stress.
We are like rabbits in headlights,
Paralysed with worry
Over those exams and other tasks.

We must not Fear or fret.
As Frank Herbert said in “Dune”
We have to face our fears
And let them pass over and through.
For only we will remain.
We must stay Mindful
Of the here and now
And let the future take care of itself.

So I will not do Fear
Of any kind
Unless that **** or terrorist appears
And even then
I will try my best
To keep my cool.

Be clinical
Rather than angry
For Anger is the cousin of Fear
And only any use
When you rationally decide
To attack.

In short
Do not Do Fear
Or Anger
Unless you really have to.

Paul Butters

© PB 18\6\2018.

LEAVE ME MY SMILE

Over time many have told me  a different way,their visions of a new day seemed to have gone astray

All the while resting in the back of mind were just basic  thoughts of how to be kind

Simplest things can bring us to task ,bliss is last, now  forcing our happiness to go away

Bringing back a grin often brings on more pain, well worth the toll when it is found

Ceaseless game of bad or good trying to force us to  take sides,will we give in today

Fresh faced within flowing morning air,breathing inward,stopped short,gloom suddenly formed as a cloud

People paying more attention to whiners than winners making it easier and more acceptable when we go astray

Questions preside if those with a constant sneer have lost all their cheer,leaving some to wonder what it is all about

Some must try harder each day finding new strength to play ,while others don't bother never seeming to slip into the grey

Which will it be often a constant plea, many inline to fix it for a fee,finding our own balance  carries the most clout

Easy smile when as light as a child ,more weight adding more scowls to our fate ,knowing happiness brings beauty will I now be slower to become evils prey. R.C.

DIRT AND PEACE

Began so perfectly prepared & polished ,even breathing brings in clean air

Slowly bit by bit speck by speck  the view grows larger and increasingly blocked by a smudge

Begins at the table,juicy RED lips with some dark pudding on the fingertips ,new found joy much to mom's despair

Now more glory bright green grass to add to the story,making it's mark on knees and palms welcoming us into a new club

First color contrast brought out by crayons,each new hue is something more to  share

Watching rain form a puddle building a new place to muddle ,won't it be great to make that plunge

Leaving the clear confines of the blue pool for the greens and browns of a pond ,what is hidden we don't care

Really starting to dig it now,maybe hidden treasure or just worms,really loving this new grunge

New found attitude, will there be play today ,muddling with the mud do we dare

Reasons in life no longer negative ,dreams of anthropology or good for ecology all just more reasons to flirt with the dirt. R.C.

TIME IN TIME OUT .....DAYS BETWEEN


Treacherous mix of trash that was supposed to be yesterday now lost

Today slow to reveal itself often not brazen, memories forgotten on a shelf

Finding moments of mental freedom become gifts ,constantly tested, but is there a cost

What mind set was there before it made itself known,maybe in limbo or just a hidden Hell

Can we safely question a scale with no balance ,Is it safe to seek a new heart without knowing our own soul

Time, it began, we know it will end, are my expressions today helping the happiness that I wish to dwell

Forward,forward until we fall ,time stands still until finding a new call,left wondering what will be our new role

Banished back to basics found forming new senses,will they be replenished or left to live as an infidel

Exchange days for daze alert for a maze,bad odds to begin a race ,improvement is now always the main goal

Yesterday lost,Searching in today ,unsure of tomorrow has left us stranded in middle ground focused again on something to repair

No longer comfortable with being "fine" or o.k. to just whine,was something missed or will we be prepared with this constricted confidence for a rise or fall if suddenly swept up in the next squall. R.C.

A LADDER TO THE TOP

Looking up but seeing nothing ,not yet understanding how to take that first step

Sitting down is not a good start for standing up ,accepting or finding a hand that we can hold

Walls grower smaller  leaving minds enclosed ,without a new view will we set a pace to escape

Can't see what is lowest when your on the bottom,starting a new cycle will have to be bold

Pushing outward against the exterior  will we finally hear echoes from the halls,receiving sounds from another stage

Passions must begin from within, growth becoming preservation, paying our dues as the pages begin to unfold

Maybe more magic or mystic if places or answers stay hidden,but how can truth be found if we remain locked in a cage

No opposite forces apply when reaching for the sky,step by step ,rung by rung gradually a new story is waiting to be told

Time is never forgiving, making those steps has too become a larger part of true living
many unknowns to equate  

Progression felt as we flow upward learning to live life with no handrails or judged by others scales ,adding height while becoming more composed

Left asking if adding more extensions will provide strength or blindly lead us to another closed gate. R.C.

WINDS ACROSS MY SOUL  

Hearing the wind in half tones constant vibrato rolls across my bones

Fearless, lifted by the breeze, flowing as new sounds increase ,feeling as it's growing

Make a way no longer standing aside ,guts or gumption finding a new pride,being lifted as the next  insight blows

Meteorologists predict a storm rapid warning the new norm,with people it takes practice to keep the personality from choking

Hidden wisps flowing as it grows, gripping brings a new sight,grabbing at flesh brings new frights

Clouds rolling over marking the speed ,heart rate slowed as the sky is  seen swirling

Suddenly internal rushes increase ,a growing gust  sweeps just as fast bringing my minds mystery's to new heights

Calmness slowly feeding the Peace, as gails lifting find a way to leave us laughing

When we find a new way will it want to stay or the next  squall leave our life flying like so many kites

Rambling or gambling with days of my life left me lost as if caught in the rotations

Eternal now internal, left with no doubts,limited space left to pout ,will we be ready when the new gales roll over our lives blowing them to new elevations. R.C.

MIND BODY & EARTH

Beautiful planet with our open soul,exposing it for the earth to cajole

Starting meek,weak we reach as it teaches ,building our passion,mildly before winning

A dramatic overture,keeping count in time,offering receiving ,then laying life's plan to unfold.

An axis spinning ,playing with monotony,revolutions mirroring evolution,always predicting & planning

Our learning can launch a yearning or leave us blank with a story always waiting to be told

Living is limitless some say while many wait for lines to be drawn,directions needed to keep from grasping

Clouds often leave a faded view,left bounded between sunrise to sunset ,has the question again been answered in code

Left again to make another way find solace to greet the day, if not advancing then digging a rut waiting

When digging in to deep do we  uncover hidden caverns that hide our heart, guiding our life blood like rivers that flowed

Grab at the leaves to make our bedding or dig for the gold to buy better,survival or inspiration seemed to be alternating

Born in a ditch still left to find a niche,making it work seems to come naturally ,throwing our lives in the wind to make an unknown episode. R.C.