What We Fear The Most
Karl Constantine FOLKES 1935 (Portland)
What we fear the most:
The depths of our underworld.
Our own weakest spot.
That which lies within our soul.
That which haunts us in our dreams.
What we fear the most:
Is part of our legacy.
It is who we are.
Our royal inheritance.
Yet that which we would deny.
What we fear the most:
Gives us sensibilities.
Powers yet unknown.
To rise from fallen angels.
And soar with wings of freedom.
What we fear the most:
What we keep to be hidden.
Is to know ourselves.
Of ancient composition.
Emerging from our darkness.
What we fear the most:
Is not fear itself — but us.
The us we bury.
The us that wants to know us.
Who courts us in our nightmares.
What we fear the most:
Is kinship with ourselves.
That we would deny.
And keep at bay from knowing.
From fear of knowing ourselves.
What we fear the most:
Our cavernous underworld.
Is where we come from.
And where we sometimes visit.
In the cover of darkness.
What we fear the most:
Yet what gives us liberty.
To come face-to-face.
And confront our heritage.
Withal, to gain our freedom.
What we fear the most:
What we all need to admit.
Is our ignorance.
The ignorance of darkness.
As bearers of our own light.
What we fear the most:
The broken parts of psyche.
Return to wholeness.
To find cathartic healing.
To embrace the Self within.
About this poem
This poem, “What We Fear The Most,” serves as a companion poem to my previously written poem, “Fear, a Prey to Survival.” When coupled, these two poems identify the source of our greatest fear as found buried within the innermost depths of our soul, ever pleading with us to know ourselves, as requested of us in the moral epistemological injunction phrase, “Know Thyself” (“gnothi seauthon”), a Greek motto inscribed on the frontispiece of the Temple of Delphi, and often falsely attributed to Socrates as his invention. This ancient Delphic assertion, as an imperative decree, implores us that mankind must stand and live according to his nature by examining his soul and becoming at peace with it. Ultimately, what we fear the most ironically, as a human race, is the Indwelling Holy Spirit within us, that sanctifies us, that we are given as a sacrificial gift, that we do not deserve, that makes us all return to holiness. more »
Written on April 20, 2022
Submitted by karlcfolkes on April 20, 2022
Modified by karlcfolkes on July 01, 2024
- 1:29 min read
- 1,570 Views
Quick analysis:
| Scheme | Abxxx Acxde Axxxf Aghgi Aicix Ahejh Abfki Acxxf Akdix Acxjx |
|---|---|
| Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
| Characters | 1,292 |
| Words | 297 |
| Stanzas | 10 |
| Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
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"What We Fear The Most" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 26 Jul 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/125221/what-we-fear-the-most>.
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