By: Oliver Griffin
Turn to the dark when the
light hurts your eyes
but don't turn back until
the dark starts to die.
Don't fight for the sale
until it's at it's lowest price
Don't risk exposure
And never vie twice.
Befriend the Lions and Tigers
No matter how dim or naive
Never stray from the pack
Believe what they believe.
Strive for the gold
but don't get too black-and-blue
You're not really in the game,
But you don't have a clue.
A free ride to the top
Wealth from the helpful unknown
Like an undercover spy,
You're cover will never be blown.
I like how you arrive at the "coward's way" through different situations in each stanza, and I like how you end with a simile!
ReplyDelete“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
ReplyDelete― Winston S. Churchill
Hi, Oliver;
ReplyDeleteI think that in your piece entitled:"Coward`s Way" that you did an effective job of capturing the feelings that many of us have when were just trying to avoid things that we consider difficult and unpleasant. I especially enjoyed reading the stanza in which you wrote"Behind the Lions and Tigers, no matter how dim or naive,never stray from the pack, believe what they believe. A powerful piece of writing . I want to read more.
I am sure that you are not a coward because the coward can not see his or her lack of courage. You point out the small weakness as well as the larger ones. I look forward to reading your next piece.
ReplyDeleteThis is so heartbreaking and chilling in its simplicity. I had to read the poem a few times to fully understand it because each line has so much meaning, and the last couple stanzas hit me especially hard. The rhyme scheme makes it so powerful.
ReplyDeleteYou use vivid and accessible images to make your case against those you think are cowards. But is it fair to call out people for cowardice when perhaps their reticence, or their hesitation, or their keeping hidden, means not that they're cowards but rather that are doing their best -- some of them even bravely -- to keep their heads barely above water and find some way to just survive in this increasingly scary, dangerous world where the decks are stacked against so many? Sometimes it takes guts just to stay alive and keep breathing, so don't be too hard on people who seek a quiet, safe way along their own paths. And watch out for "your" (the possessive form of the pronoun) and "you're" (the contraction of "you are." You wrote, "You're cover will never be blown," but I think you meant "your cover.
ReplyDelete“ If There Is No Struggle, There Is No Progress!
ReplyDelete- Frederick Douglass