under the elms

life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.
Anais Nin



the wind was colder than I expected
on my walk under the elms today,
and even though the sun favoured me
with its perfect grace 
and flickering hints of spring,
it could not warm my soul,
nor fill my needful heart,
or spark in me the courage
to peer into the void,

that place where all the dark thoughts
roam, marauding packs
that sense my weakling blood
and hold me back in fear,
fiercer than my wish, my want,

but still, 
comes spring,
comes hope I'll grasp at last 
belief
that bravery
is just my trust 
in me