The Cliff's Edge

Location

63 Robinson St
United States

I stand on the edge of a cliff

Facing out to the sea that seems so far

Looking down, it’s an abyss

An abyss that I’ve always feared venturing into

I know that I’m not the most brave of people

But I want to be able to take the dive like so many others

To take that one little step that could take me into a better place than I am now

Rather than just standing on the edge wondering

Why didn’t I jump?

As I started to take a step forward,

Something grabbed on

Turning around, I saw it was a mirror image of myself

But in her eyes, they were filled with terror

“Don’t do it!” She cried “What if you fail? What if you get hurt?”

I took in her words for a moment before taking her hand off my wrist

She was surprised as I simply smiled and said

“I’ll just climb back up and try again and again

Turning back around, I stared into the abyss once more

Others were jumping already and I was still hesitant

What if she was right?

What if… I couldn’t get back up?

Then I remembered that fear was just something trying to keep me safe

And sometimes

It’s better to jump in head first

So I did
Taking a deep breath, I jumped off with my eyes shut tight

Fearing the worst as I fell further into the abyss

When suddenly, I was surrounded by light

I opened my eyes and found myself standing on solid ground once more

It was never a cliff in the first place

It was a step

A step I had been afraid to take for the longest of time

And as I took another step, it got easier to take another

The journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step

I just never knew how much easier it would get along the way

So now, I don’t think about the what if,

I left fear behind

And began my steps to the rest of my life

This poem is about: 
Me

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