COURAGE
You never know how much
you have until you’re tested.
I had no fear when I slept over night
In the woods to prove I was as brave
as a Leni Lenape Indian at the age of 14
to qualify as an honorary member
of the Order of the Arrow.
I had no fear when I took a bus to Afton, New York
to work as a Farm Cadet during the second world war.
I was not afraid to drive my ’37 Dodge to Iowa City
in a January blizzard of 1950 to enroll as a student
at the University of Iowa. I had no fear the day I became
a member of the US Army during the Korean War.
Now I’m being tested again as I face life alone
after losing my loving wife of 67 years. How brave will I be?
I will be the first to find out.