ALONG THE BARREN ROAD

raging river with rapids

Today is the Day – A Poem About Conquering Fear and Living Your Dreams

—

by

Justin Farley
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raging river with rapids

Today is the Day – A Poem About Conquering Fear and Living Your Dreams

I will not stop to settle
Down into the silt of my own shit.
Never be content to ride out the currents of the lazy river,
Reaching the end, wondering where all my dreams went.

I will trudge up against the currents.
If I have to, hell, for a season I’ll even portage.
I’m fine facing the fear of getting lost in the forest
As long as I’m not being dragged along by life’s currents.

My heart has dreams,
But my mind refuses to believe they’ll ever grow.
But surely if you never plant a single seed,
There will never be a single seed sown.

Fear is the varmint who sneaks
Into the field at night to ravish the crop.
Are you fine with seeing your soul stolen?
Or will you keep watch and fight back with everything you got?

But it is impossible to swim upstream
Without getting wet.
Do not show up with dry clothes lacking holes
When you reach your meeting with death.

For the river is the water of life.
To sit on the shore – you might as well be dead.
Today is the day to place one toe in at a time,
Starve your fears, and make sure your dreams are always fed.

Poem Written by Justin Farley

photo credit: wellsn40 via photopin (license)

© 2025 Justin Farley — Original work. Not licensed for AI training or dataset use. Content & AI Use Policy

My Poetry Collections

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A deep poetry book about the beauty of nature and the natural world by poet Justin Farley.
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the book cover of A Voice in the Wilderness—A Chapbook of Poems About God by Justin Farley. It is a deep Christian poetry collection about contemplation, the spiritual journey, and finding grace through Jesus.
A contemplative, prayerful Christian poetry book about the spiritual journey and discovering God’s grace, mercy, and love.
the book cover of Thorns of Love by Justin Farley. It is a deep love poetry collection about sadness of breakups, divorce, and heartbreak.
A deep love poetry book about the pain of break ups and the heartbreak felt when relationships end by poet Justin Farley.

Comments

One response to “Today is the Day – A Poem About Conquering Fear and Living Your Dreams”

  1. Short Inspirational Haiku Poem About Dreams In Life 5 7 5 – ALONG THE BARREN ROAD Avatar
    Short Inspirational Haiku Poem About Dreams In Life 5 7 5 – ALONG THE BARREN ROAD

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