The Pyle Inside

Never have you felt true bravery,

Until you have coward,

And cried-

Till your eyes bled red.

Until you have scraped your knees on the pavement.

After face planting on the sidewalk.

When you fall,

You are given a chance

A hope to rise up.

Every wound turns into a callus after it heals-

Stronger.

To be strong you must know,

What it is to be weak.

You must live as a mouse,

To learn the way of the lion.

You must walk down the sidewalk first,

To know when the sidewalk looks up.

And soar down a rollercoaster,

To race up.

Towards the sky.

And past the stars.

But I am scared.

Of heights,

As the stars reach high.

Travel that far?

And for what?

Bravery?

For the chance to stand up and speak what you really believe.

Would you travel that far?

For the chance to wear the costume of a lion.

How far would you travel?

How much would you risk?

How much would you laugh,

When you realize you need bravery…

To be brave.

After falling on the sidewalk,

You need bravery to stand back up.

Knowing that it is possible you might fall again.

Knowing that you will fall again,

But standing anyway.

And you might fear that bravery.

Because you know what it means.

You know the blood running down your leg from scraping your knee on the sidewalk.

You know the cost,

But you’ve seen what bravery looks like.

And you want it.

You want to look at yourself,

Deep inside your eyes,

To find strength.

You want to look into the mirror,

To find a lion staring deep into your soul.

But have you looked in the eyes of a lion?

Have you seen the sad expression written upon its face?

They too have walked the sidewalk.

They too will continue walking the sidewalk.

With every great reward,

Comes great consequence,

As the sidewalk has chips and cracks,

But will never end.