Courage Does Not Always Roar

When life gets you down and the problems you face
are certainly more than your share.
When you run out of strength and you want to give up
because it's just too much to bear.

I want to remind you, my precious friend,
that you have what it takes inside,
extraordinary courage that may not ROAR
but it doesn't cower and hide.

It's the quiet voice inside you that says,
"Tomorrow I'll try again."
It's the courage to keep on going
to see things through to the end.

You are not defined by this moment in time.
You are not what has happened to you.
It's the way that you choose to respond that matters
and what you decide to do.

Courage is not the absence of fear,
but a powerful choice we make.
It's the choice to move forward with a PURPOSE and joy,
regardless of what it takes.

It's the courage that's found in ordinary women
who are HEROES in their own way
exhibiting strength and fortitude
in life's challenges every day.

Valiant women of exceptional courage
with enduring power to cope
taking each problem one day at a time
and never giving up HOPE.

These brave-hearted women have great resilience
and they lift each other as well
bonded by a common understanding
each with a story to tell.

- Paula Fox

Notes:

• Caps as found in my source. Other sources have variant capitalizations.
• sometimes attributed to Bobi Seredich because she made a movie of the poem
• return to poem C
• return to poems