Talking Down Fear

A sea of people pressing in upon me,
The walls closing in --
I cannot breathe for their closeness.
Hastily I raise my ivory blocks,
But the tide comes knock, knock, knocking.
Their insistence topples my tower.

Now I'm here on this stage,
Alone.
The glare of the spotlight is hot
As the furnaces of Hell.
But I'm frozen,
Shivering.

My script is before me.
These few paces to the podium,
A march to the gallows --
All alike.

I inhale.
The deep breath before the plunge.

I dive.

Now I'm swimming through that sea,
I no longer fear those waves.
I'm free.