Coward

So I joined this emailing list that gives you a "word of the day," every day. The task is to write something, and by something I mean anything, using that word.  It's a great little writing exercise.  I like it because every day, I put something down on paper that was once in my head.  There's something very satisfying about that.  Anyways, on Monday, the word of the day was "coward."  Here's what I came up with:

What the heck am I so afraid of?  These raw emotions collect like a wad, like an unwelcome crowd of Orcs coming for tea.  With a caw and a crow they get stuck in my craw, declaring war on my peace of mind.  I'm stuck in a boat with a single oar.  I paddle and row only to go in circles, creating an arc of disappointment.  How do you draw them out?  How do you ward them off?  Perhaps with a cord wrapped around the neck of Fear, attached to a speeding car rambling down the road of unfulfilled dreams.  Holy cow!  That would teach it a lesson.  Or not.  Ugh...it's such a cad, or better yet, a cod.  That's right, a cod.  Good thing I brought my rod of truth today so I can beat the living daylights out of it.  That would be a sight to see.  Totally rad.  Oh I have much ado.  It's time to OD on optimism, positive thinking and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  Maybe I'll send that little monster a greeting card with one word: Coward.  That's what it is and what I will not be.  And now for the coda: Well there isn't one, at least not yet.  I guess fear doesn't always go away, but it's what you do in the face of it (and with a rod of truth).

"It is vain for the coward to flee; death follows close behind; it is only by defying it that the brave escape."  Voltaire

*Bold lettered words are all the words within the word COWARD