Stage Fright Poem by Jose Gutierrez

Do you ever feel so nervous that you mouth got really dry?
Do you ever feel so nervous that um you um forget um almost all the um words?
Do you ever feel so nervous that your legs start shivering?
Why do we feel this way?
Why must we cower over walking, standing, and smiling?
Why feel nervous over nice people that applaud to your entrance?
People support you
People enjoy you
People help you

Don’t get me wrong its frightful standing in front of people
Stand where I’m standing and tell my you aren’t afraid
You’re afraid of judgment
You’re afraid that doing something that makes you bold
Actually makes you feel embarrassed
But there’s nothing wrong
You could trip, break a leg, and have everyone remember you from that idiot who didn’t see the wire on the floor
But why feel bad?
Because judgment got to you, and you let it happen

Judgment is but one of the things that make you feels this way
Are you? Brave enough to say your name out loud in a foreign accent?
You’re afraid without confidence
You can’t do something without being sure you want to do it
That’s how marriage works
If you can’t walk where I’m standing and look dead at your partner and say,
“I love you”
You have failed in the game of love
One drop of bravery can help one person with their dreams, goals, and peer pressure

But what stops you from something more than anything else?
Fear
Fear is that felling when you get cold but yet sweat like a pig
Fear is that felling that makes us do stupid choices in life
Fear is that felling that tingles in your bones when you hear something in the other room
Fear is alive and lives in you
Fear shouldn’t control you though
Fight fear, just stand up to it and you will win

My word isn’t gold or silver
But yours is, and I would like to hear your word where I’m standing.