He couldn’t bring himself to fight the leader of the pack,
Too many had already tried but most had not come back
His family they were wretched poor they’d fled the cussed war
And were located in this slum no better than before!
The family told before the war they’d known of better days
They had to leave all things behind, adjust to different ways,
And it had been quite hard on him to live on danger-street
His favourite haunt was city square where slum and affluence meet.
A clamour from the street below now caught his restless eye
The pack was calling for his blood, was this his day to die?
He sighed and headed for the door, ‘twas better to be dead
Than be a coward all his life just as the pack had said.
Unwillingly through open door he stepped on pavement cold,
And in that fateful moment he decided to be bold
Perhaps he wasn’t tough enough, or streetwise it was true
But family pride can courage give, he’d fix this useless crew!
With lusty yell he charged into the leader of the pack
And soon to everyone’s surprise he had him on his back.
The startled pack retreated to a safer distance near
And when the leader slunk away they gave a nervous cheer.
No longer does he have to walk with eyes averted down
For now the locals smile and wave when he struts round the town
The victory gave new courage to his struggling family
And courage led on to success from poverty they’re free
“© Copyright Ian Grice 2013. All rights reserved.”
ianscyberspace 
He was a lucky guy around here with some of the gang members he would not have gained courage but most likely would have died. I have been over viewing your pictures this morning sweet Ian. You have some amazing and beautiful pictures. Hugs
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Yes the character in this story was more than lucky. He was a rare statistic.
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We can push someone only so much. “We” in this case refers to individuals, groups and society as a whole.
Fight or flee – survival of the fittest :- these are more than cliches for many, much more than something to adorn pages of literature (the former) or pages of scientific journals (the latter).
A well told story that weaves ground level realities – even now in many strife torn countries.
All good wishes,
Eric
P/s Phew! Made it before the computer goes crazy again.
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I’s amazing what fear can do to you Eric. It provides the strength to solve impossible situations. Looks like you need a new computer. We just replaced two after wasting hours trying to fix. Cheers!
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You’re probably right re computers. I’ve visited the service centre again – will know later today. Fingers crossed.
The glimmer is – I managed to save most of my files and okay for today’s Talk – Phew!
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What I do for presentations is to prepare on desktop, print it out as insurance and transfer from my desktop to IPad through Quick Office for the actual presentation. It’s easier to use your finger to move the page up on IPad than it is to turn pages in a paper presentation. Fixing computers costs nearly as much as buying a new one and you can get them fully loaded cheap now. My main desktop is the computer/screen all in one that is now so common. I find laptops a bit restrictive.
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Desperation fuels us beyond fear at times. This was a wonderful piece, I liked the weave of family, history and dreams of the future were brought together.
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Thanks, we have two choices in life don’t we? We can choose to be a victim or we can choose to rise above our circumstances.
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It is amazing how fear has a way of dissipating when you look it in the eye…
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That’s so true Angela. That applies to administrative decisions too. When people have told me an idea would be impossible I tried anyway and most times it worked. Best regards.
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This reminded me of the story where a mother lifted a car to free a trapped child…instinct lifts us over fear and the universe conspires to support. Lovely piece Ian. 🙂
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I had a similar experience as a teenager when fear helped me out of an impossible situation when a car in which I was a passenger rolled at high speed. That fear provided strength to do the impossible and break out of the wreck.
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Oh Ian, I was a passenger in an accident like that…sheer instinct kicks in doesn’t it? Glad you were OK.
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I’m glad you managed to escape too. Another thing we have in common.
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What a beauty Ian ♥
Courage and will such lovely things to wear, loved the way he paved his way to success.
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I watched amazed in India to see that some in the downtrodden villages who were locked in so to speak socially were not satisfied with that. I personally know people from the lower castes who by cleverness and hard work escaped the bounds and now possess a PhD or high educational and professional standing. They can’t return to their villages and flaunt their wealth and education as you will well know but I have to say they have my extreme admiration. While it may not be quite the same in other parts of the world there are segments of society which find it just as hard to break out there too. The human experience is that there will always be those that have and those who have not. It’s a matter as to whether we have the will to rise above our personal restrictions.
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i didn’t expect him to survive – t’was a nice surprise. It is encouraging that his act of bravery with it’s fortunate outcome gave the entire family a stepping stone out of poverty – I wonder if it can be that simple.
Provocative piece.- good rythmn
Jane
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No, in this case there was a lot of luck associated with that brave action. If the leader of the gang had been more powerful or a mob psychology took effect our hero would have been mincemeat. But surprisingly sometimes fear leads to superhuman effort we never knew we possessed too.
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