Embarrassment’s a universal fear –
the nightmare and the bogeyman of youth
that seems to find more nourishment each year,
and changes shape but always hides this truth:
For anyone who’d stake an honest claim
to ethical and wise maturity,
avoidance of embarrassment’s a shame,
and facing it’s the path to purity.

When we review, the choices we regret
are those that we for awkwardness declined.
The malady infests if we forget
how hesitation holds the heart behind.
The wisest thing my mother ever said?
You can’t grow up unless your face gets red.