Courage Poem by Herbert Nehrlich

When first I jumped it did not take persuasion,
much stronger forces needed fighting 'til they quit.
One trusts a parachute on only one occasion
until the next time when they ask for Agent Grit.

To overcome the inner guardian and succeed
in hairy matters that are threatening to life
it is essential that one recognize the need
to substitute BIG for a smaller strife.

And so it was when I was sitting on the bench,
with Magdalena from the Catholic Lycée,
we had progressed to kissing longer, and in French,
but my left hand, perched on her knee, would not obey.

It took an hour of the strongest concentration.
And only promises of later, greater pleasures
at last allowed me to give in to motivation
to roam around and find the greatest of all treasures.