Poem by Aleksandra Jeličić

Courage

How many courageous people do you know?
What is courage after all?

To laugh when it feels like laughing,
To cry when it feels like crying,
To sing when it feels like singing,
To dance when it feels like dancing,
In the street, at work, in a hospital,
Wherever and whenever.

To say I love you first,
To say I love you without I love you in return,
To ask for help when in need,
To say I can’t when you can’t,
To say no when everything around says yes,
To be kind to someone unkind.

To look a stranger in the eyes,
To reach out to a troubled friend,
To talk about death with your aging parents,
To let your child make mistakes,
To ask a dear one for forgiveness,
To admit when you have been wrong.

To always say what you think
Even if it might hurt,
Even if you need to stand alone for it,
Because you should not be ashamed of yourself,
Because wherever you go, you will be there.