Fear wants us to hide, to cower,
to remain cloistered in chains,
to wall off our lives from dangers,
in our bedrooms, our closets,
hidden from the world, the chaos,
evil swirling winds around us…
Terror screeches in every room
swirling in our consciousness, dread,
sirens of chaos, destruction, the enemy,
seeking to defeat us, to terrorize,
to bind us, that we would remain frozen,
denying us beauty, our traditions…
But we must gather ourselves,
We must be resolute, determined,
We must be open, raw, transparent…
We must open our locked doors,
our hidden demons, this moment,
everything on the table, exposed…
We must have the courage to step outside
to embrace one another in this season,
despite the present danger, the risk,
evil that seeks to destroy us,
this is our choice, our challenge,
against this evil horde…
For life is in the living, the challenge
to plunge out into the world
to gather in public together
to sing the ancient songs, to live,
to be one people united,
to not let fear defeat us…
---------------
Edited December 27, 2025
Courage to Step Outside – v3
Images and videos of Christmas celebrations and parades
In Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine and
Erica Kabaeva post on Instagram November 4, 2025:
Їду в метро й думаю, як часто ми відкладаємо життя «на
потім». Пишу мамі: «Візьми когось із собою і наважся поїхати туди, поки осінь
ще така красива, поки в тебе є машина — і натхнення гарантоване». Надсилаю їй
кілька локацій, які варто побачити. І додаю фразу, яку, здається, адресую їй:
«страх не має часу, а ми маємо обмежений час на цій землі» І далі собі думаю:
Страх — це безчасова субстанція. Йому байдуже, скільки тобі років, який
сьогодні день і скільки разів ти вже відмовилась від чогось. Він живе поза
календарем і годинником. Страх не старіє, не втомлюється, не чекає слушного
моменту. Він просто є і завжди зʼявляється, приходить будь-якої миті, коли ти починаєш рухатися і пірнаєш в нове. Але ми — не страх. Ми маємо тіло, яке відчуває час. Ми маємо шкіру, яка старіє. Ми маємо дороги, які не чекатимуть, поки ми зберемося. Ми маємо обмежений час, щоб жити, а не просто існувати поруч із власними виправданнями. Страх завжди знайде причину залишитись вдома, але враження від життя не прийде до тих, хто не виходить з дому.
Original
----------------
Google Translate:
“I'm riding the subway and thinking about how often we put off life "for later." I write to my mom: "Take someone with you and dare to go there while the autumn is still so beautiful, while you have a car - and inspiration is guaranteed." I send her a few locations worth seeing. And I add a phrase that I seem to be addressing to her: "fear has no time, and we have a limited time on this earth." And then I think to myself: Fear is a timeless substance. It doesn't care how old you are, what day it is, and how many times you've already given up on something. It lives outside the calendar and the clock. Fear doesn't age, doesn't get tired, doesn't wait for the right moment. It simply is and always appears, comes at any moment when you start moving and dive into something new. But we are not fear. We have a body that feels time. We have skin that ages. We have roads that won't wait for us to get together. We have a limited time to live, not just exist alongside our own excuses. Fear will always find a reason to stay home, but the experience of life will not come to those who do not leave their homes.”
All of my poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A.
Foss, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010,
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023,
2024, and 2025. All rights are reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com)
for usage. See my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com
to remain cloistered in chains,
to wall off our lives from dangers,
in our bedrooms, our closets,
hidden from the world, the chaos,
evil swirling winds around us…
swirling in our consciousness, dread,
sirens of chaos, destruction, the enemy,
seeking to defeat us, to terrorize,
to bind us, that we would remain frozen,
denying us beauty, our traditions…
We must be resolute, determined,
We must be open, raw, transparent…
We must open our locked doors,
our hidden demons, this moment,
everything on the table, exposed…
to embrace one another in this season,
despite the present danger, the risk,
evil that seeks to destroy us,
this is our choice, our challenge,
against this evil horde…
to plunge out into the world
to gather in public together
to sing the ancient songs, to live,
to be one people united,
to not let fear defeat us…
Edited December 27, 2025
Courage to Step Outside – v3
In Kyiv and other cities of Ukraine and
Original
Google Translate:
“I'm riding the subway and thinking about how often we put off life "for later." I write to my mom: "Take someone with you and dare to go there while the autumn is still so beautiful, while you have a car - and inspiration is guaranteed." I send her a few locations worth seeing. And I add a phrase that I seem to be addressing to her: "fear has no time, and we have a limited time on this earth." And then I think to myself: Fear is a timeless substance. It doesn't care how old you are, what day it is, and how many times you've already given up on something. It lives outside the calendar and the clock. Fear doesn't age, doesn't get tired, doesn't wait for the right moment. It simply is and always appears, comes at any moment when you start moving and dive into something new. But we are not fear. We have a body that feels time. We have skin that ages. We have roads that won't wait for us to get together. We have a limited time to live, not just exist alongside our own excuses. Fear will always find a reason to stay home, but the experience of life will not come to those who do not leave their homes.”
Poetry Where You Live.
Poetry, fear, courage, life, Ukraine, war, Christmas,
Kyiv, culture, joy,
#poetry #fear #courage #life #Ukraine #war #Christmas #Kyiv
#culture #joy
