poem

Fear loses its power

A poem about fear, identity, grief, and choosing love over division.

Restless racing inquiry inside of my head

In my heart, grief profound for innocent dead;

Incensed by tongues sowing discord and hate

Or silently complicit in the world they create:

One of violent intolerance and willful destruction

For no other reason than bigoted presumptions.

With evil aired from many post, page, and pulpit

Painting oppressor as victim and victim as culprit;

No longer discretely do hateful doctrines abide,

Rather spoken in daylight, then blithely denied.

And those in the focus of this malevolent bite:

Queer, disabled; not “Christian”, male, or white,

For these, must they consider each step and turn,

Check over their shoulder—look to discern—

The next strike of terror, or of deadly attack

Of refuge stolen, or of rights taken back;

That weight on my chest with the words: “I’m gay”

So for strength and courage, I constantly pray,

As each moment a battle between me and my fear

That to live in my truth shall summon hate here.

Owing to a conditioned, much contorted religion,

Declaring my nature sinful; deserving of perdition,

For years I struggled, praying it please swept away;

An oppressive, haunting bitterness, so slow to decay.

Yet I begin to see more clearly: that it is really a gift,

A revolutionary paradigm, an empathetic shift:

To see beyond my biased and privileged lens—

To see more humanity in strangers and friends

To see a better future where all beings can be,

Diverse and together, safe, cared for, and free!

Just as light is most bright in deepest of dark,

So too is love where hatred is most stark;

In shared pain and grief and loss and sorrow

We draw closer in pursuit of a brighter tomorrow

One of safety, equity, and inclusion for all

No matter our differences, so great or so small

I know this is true, for it is so in my community:

We counter hatred with love, division with unity,

Destruction with healing, and fear with resolve

To unseat oppression and beyond it evolve.

Though fear is still present, and hate still loud

Because of my people, I will stand up proud

And be who I am, the truest version of me

So the truest version of you, you too can be.

These words a manifesto, for compassionate action

Non-violent and vocal to counter hate’s faction

To stand up for justice and those long oppressed,

Listen to the silenced and those still in distress.

Only together shall we break hatred’s foul lease

And all build a world full of more love and peace.

Thus it shall be that fear loses its power

And hatred and terror face their last hours

So let hope spring forth from reservoirs pure,

As forgiveness and kindness well up to cure

The wounds and division and harm long done

To begin looking towards the new dawning sun

In which light, we together, as one human race

Can embrace our differences, each making space

For all who are here, who exist, who breathe;

Towards such a future I will strive and believe.

Behind this piece

About

A poem written from the intersection of grief, fear, identity, and hope.

This piece explores what happens when fear is no longer allowed to determine who we become or how we relate to one another.

It moves through anger, sorrow, and internal conflict toward a vision of collective healing—one rooted not in domination or retaliation, but in compassion, solidarity, courage, and love.

Insight

This poem was written during a season when fear felt unusually close.

Fear for people being harmed. Fear for the future. Fear of what could happen if I allowed more of myself to be visible.

At the time, courage felt less like confidence and more like continuing anyway.

What surprises me looking back is that this poem did not ultimately become about fear.

It became about relationship.

About the realization that being different was not something to overcome, but something that expanded my capacity to see and care more deeply.

And about the recognition that hatred becomes weaker when people continue choosing love, community, healing, truth, and one another despite it.

Fear may still speak.

But it does not get the final word.

Details

Author: Bryce George

Kind: poem

Written: 10 December 2022

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