When doubt casts
a shadow in the mind,
and anxiety stiffens
its grip on instincts,
our emotion manifests
into one of fear.

When we are not at ease
with a certain known risk,
we pave way for fear
to engulf and mould us.
Ideally, we want to
manage our innates
and eliminate the learneds.

There’s a bias to fear
that comes with demographics.
While the child and the aged
each battles with only intrinsic,
it is the adult that confronts
both the inborn and acquired.

Fright can be prescriptive
in many shapes and forms.
Why are there hundreds of phobias,
while there’s a lone counterphobic?
The energy to seek it out and overcome
is strong, singular and
most certainly in self.

Photo Source: “Fear”, a sketch by Zlatina Ivanova