“Stay away from your dreams,”
They say,
“It’s like a moth to flames.
Instead of warmth and happiness
It will lead to burning pain.
The closer you get,
The greater the cost
Until your dreams turn you to dust.”
But I am not a moth,
My wings are not upon my back.
They are my heart,
And my dreams are the breath that lifts me up.
I may rise only to fall,
But so do waves upon the beach
So do leaves and rain and even the sun
Has an arcing trajectory.
I would rather live
My life, my truth
Than be afraid to die and so
Live chained as Caution’s pet.
There is always risk,
And I want mine to be the risk of my life.
I want leaps of faith to carry me to places
That mean something.
If the burning comes, and there is pain
(Which is inevitable)
I know it will pass.
And I would rather feel than stay
On the edge of the shadows.
I would rather burn,
Falling like ash, crying out
After reaching the flames,
Than always wonder what would happen
If I followed that path,
The road I’m “not supposed” to travel,
As the cautious may say.
Fear is in the corners of the rooms,
But moving past those edges,
Brings clarity, sharpness
To overcome the gloom.
We are more than moths,
More than dreams and fears,
More than the many little things
That may up our daily lives.
Everyone has a way to shine,
A different light to guide them through life,
And while fear may hide the things we know we love,
There is always a way to follow passion,
To find what resonates.
When you know, you know,
And the truth came to me
In a childhood dream.
Fighting off the monsters in my mind,
I stood my ground, declaring:
“I am what I am. You are what you are.”
Somewhere round the age of five,
Those words rang in my mind,
Through the dark of a starry night.
Even then, at such a tender age
I knew I’d found my truth,
What I want to do
For every moment of my life.
That is enough, I am enough,
And knowing that, I also know
All the flames in the world are on my side.
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This poem was written after reading an opinion piece from Mamamia’s Jamila Rizvi. Her thoughts, and the other content in the article got me really fired up…Even the page heading – “Find the thing you’re passionate about in life and do it only on nights and weekends” – sparked something in me and I knew I had something to say about it. So that’s part of this poem.
I was also very inspired by a three day workshop I just did with international voice expert David Coury and a group of wonderful women at the Howard Fine Acting Studio Australia (HFAS). The lessons are still sinking in, but I know the work we did has changed me for the better, and that it comes through in my voice (whether written, spoken or otherwise expressed).
I’ve been blessed to know from a very young age that I am an actress. I’ve let fear overcome me before and tried to take a different path, only to find the way blocked. Following my passion is both the easiest and hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I love it and I want this for my life.
Filed under: Acting, Poetry Tagged: David Coury, dreams, Fear, following your path, Howard Fine Acting Studio Australia, meaning of dreams, moth to flame, passion
