I too have my fears,
I've learned to keep unseen.
Since I have never had a backup crew.
Or know what it's like,
To have an older sibling.

I was taught to fight my own battles.
With a doing of it done.
And every obstacle I faced,
From them I did not run.
Or tell anyone what I did to overcome.

Each step forward I take,
I've never taken before.
But I am not afraid to adventure,
With a curiosity...
Others may choose with a decision to ignore.

To stumble from the making of mistakes.
And to recover from heatache I could not fake...
I thought at one time I was doing alone.
But with a kept faith many times I've been shown,
A 'higher power' is more conscious and aware...
Than I am of my own needs.

Lawrence S. Pertillar

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/more-conscious-and-aware/