Some say it
Takes courage
To take a stand
And fight.
In many cases
I couldn't agree
More…
When a woman
Is beaten
Or a child,
Who didn't
Do anything
To deserve
The third
Black eye
They've
Had in as
Many months.
But…
Sometimes,
It takes MORE
Courage not
To fight,
So that the
Beast who
Lives within
The beater
Can be seen
Clearly
For who they
Are.
Gandhi knew
This.
By the hundreds
Men lined up
Dark skinned Indian
Beside Indian,
In white clothes
So the blood
Could be more
Clearly seen,
The splattering
Of the brutality,
They marched forward
To be beaten
By the English
White faced
Guards,
Unnamed men
Were systematically
Brutalized.
Until the pile
Of human bodies
Made the guards
Wretch,
And the reporters
Told the world,
Of English
Barbarism,
India gained
Its freedom,
By NOT
Fighting.
It's another
Thing entirely
To know
That the one
Who is taunting
You is too
Broken and
Stupid to know
The things
You've seen,
When you
Were at war
To see friends
Blown to bits
Heroism was
Dying so that
Others could
Enjoy the freedom
To complain,
While you walked
Away from a
Guy too drunk
To understand
How much
He isn't worth
It.
Courage is
Being a fourteen
Year old girl
With a black
Belt,
Dealing with
Mean girls
In high school,
Who can't
Even fathom
Being called
What
A pretentious
Troglodyte IS,
Then walking
Away while
They were still
Trying to figure
Out what
Those big words
Were.
Sometimes
Though the courage
To walk away
Isn't so clean
Cut.
Like when
You are sick
Your midterm
Is due tomorrow
And you have
To decide
If the grade
Is worth
Fighting for,
When it's
The third time
You've been
Sick this
Semester,
Then what
Is it precisely
We are fighting
For or against?
Sometimes
Choosing to
Fight or not
Doesn't take
Courage,
But discernment
And wisdom,
Which sometimes
Looks like
The courage,
Not to fight.
