Be Brave

A new poem by Bruce Black.

I hear You say
be brave as the day 
begins and an unknown
path stretches ahead of me.
Or maybe it's the voice of
my father that I hear calling
to me from the other side, 
from the olam habah,
encouraging me to stand up
to doubts and fears, to toss away 
timidity and rally around faith,
to trust in You to lead me 
wherever I need to go.
The words echo in my ears
as I set off on an unknown path today,
not knowing where the path will lead,
praying it will bring me closer to You.

Bruce Black

Bruce Black is the author of Writing Yoga (Rodmell Press/Shambhala) and editorial director of The Jewish Writing Project. He received his BA from Columbia University and his MFA from Vermont College. His work has appeared in Elephant Journal, Blue Lyra Review, Tiferet Journal, Hevria, Poetica, Reform Judaism, The Jewish Literary Journal, Mindbodygreen, Yogi Times, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and elsewhere. He lives in Sarasota, FL.