not afraid Archives · Ashley Barnes

Without warning
Fear visited,
And I was not afraid

She took my hand,
Gently,
And without hesitation
I followed her flowing robes,
Her soothing voice,
Deep into the tunnels of my soul,
To the places where quiet resides,
Where I could clearly hear her voice,
And I was not afraid

And there she whispered,
There in the hull
Of my greatest deception,
“I am not your fear,
But rather the voice which silences
That which convinces your shaking heart
To retreat,
The one who births
The fearlessness of children,
And rears it into latter years.

Yet, you’ve stopped listening,
You’ve stopped yearning,
And I’m here to bring you back
To the place where fear lives,
The place where, in your fear,
You stand anyway,
You speak anyway,
You thrive anyway
In the midst of it,
You make this fearless life your own”

And then she was gone,
And in the dark aloneness
She left behind,
I was not afraid