Taming the Demons

Today, I awoke with demons
  playing on my mind.

'Who do you think you are,
  writing and sending your thoughts
  out to the world?'

'Your writing isn't at all good.
  Your words do not inspire.
  Your ideas are not new.'

'It would be better to
  silence yourself.
  Step back from the 
  inevitable embarrassment
  due you when all
  discover that you
  are not really 
  a writer.'

For so much of my life,
  these demons held sway
  over my decisions and actions.

Believing always, that I was
  never 'good enough',
  I shared that which is most sacred
  to me - my writing -
  with just a few others.

And, when I found an
  individual who was interested,
  I would inevitably inundate
  that person with verse,
  not able to stop the flow
  of words, the energy
  that cried for form.

It was just this year - after 51-lived-years -
  that I dared to share beyond the few.

Perhaps it is true.
  Perhaps my writing doesn't
  distinguish me as among the greats.

But the words are there,
  they demand release.
  To ask me to stop writing would be like
  asking an eagle to not fly.

Really, our egos have such limited capacity
  to see beyond fear, and in our best interests,
  try to protect us from harm.

But we were not meant to lie dormant
  And, to not use a gift, no matter how small,
  seems a violation against the life force
  within us all.

We are seeds planted in the soil of this life.
  We must reach outside the protective shell
  and venture into that dark, rich soil
  to learn our purpose.

And then, give back.
  Don't question or judge,
  for you can't possibly know the potential
  of the gifts you give.
  Just give back to life.