Fortitude

To look upon the future and not blink,
To recollect the past without regret,
To know the present on its own harsh terms
Are harder than I ever like to think.
There are some things one wishes to forget,
Some futures which have present-planted germs
Which might feel best ignored; the heart may sink
When contemplating present's future debt,
Or seeing pasts devoured by new worms.
And even in the drying of the ink
One may flinch back from what has just been set
Recoiling even as the pen affirms.
Yet one must make the effort; else all fails
When hearts and minds refuse and turn their tails.