Friday, January 27, 2012

The Fighter

By S.E. Kiser

I FIGHT a battle everyday
            Against discouragement and fear;
Some foe stands always in my way,
            The path ahead is never clear!

I must forever be on guard
            Against the doubts that skulk along;
I get ahead by fighting hard,
            But fighting keeps my spirit strong.

I hear the croakings of Despair,
            The dark predictions of the weak;
I find myself pursued by Care,
            No matter what the end I seek;
My victories are small and few,
            It matters not how hard I strive;
Each day the fight begins anew,
            But fighting keeps my hopes alive.

My dreams are spoiled by circumstance,
            My plans are wrecked by Fate or Luck;
Some hour, perhaps, will bring my chance,
            But that great hour has never struck;
My progress has been slow and hard,
            I’ve had to climb and crawl and swim,
Fighting for every stubborn yard;
            But I have kept in fighting trim.

I have to fight my doubts away
            And be on guard against my fears;
The feeble croaking of Dismay
            Has been familiar through the years;
My dearest plans keep going wrong,
            Events combine to thwart my will;
But fighting keeps my spirit strong,
            And I am undefeated still!

To commemorate the 1 year anniversary of officially embarking on this crazy (and I really do mean crazy) adventure known as the Peace Corps, I wanted to share this truly motivational poem. A very dear friend who served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Jamaica shared this poem with me when I first began the process to start my Peace Corps adventure over 2.5 years ago.  It hangs where I can see it everyday, to serve as a reminder that perseverance will get me thru the day. I find this to be very timely, given this past week of school.

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