"The King's Note" from Mikey and The Dragons by Jocko Willink

The King's Note

To My Son,

If you are reading this now it means I am gone,
And you are the one that must carry on.
Our kingdom is now what you must save. 
And to do that, you have to be brave.
I know that you think you don't know what to do.
But remember that I was once a little boy, too.
I was also small and had fear in my heart, 
And I didn't even know where to start.
I couldn't imagine going over the hill,
To face the dragons that wanted to kill.
But don't worry son, you will be just fine, 
If you can keep these things in your mind:
The dragons, they aren't really that big at all,
It is only in our minds that we make them so tall.
Inside our brains things always get overblown,
Especially things that are completely unknown.
But when fear settles in and gets a hold of you,
Here are some things that you simply must do:

Stand up straight and hold your head high.
And look at your fears right in the eye.
Don't look away and don't try and hide, 
Know that you have great strength deep inside.
When you stand up and go into the fray,
You will feel your fears start to go away.
And though there will be horror you feel,
The things you are scared of are not a big deal.
This is not to say you won't feel a scare,
Fear is a feeling that all of us share.
Fear is normal for every person on earth,
But this is where a hero proves his worth.
A coward runs away when danger is near,
But a hero will face the thing that they fear.
So that is what you must do my son,
Face the dragons and do not run.
And I promise when you meet them you will see,
That you are just as strong as me.
The dragons that seem so mighty and mean, 
Are not ever as bad as they might seem.
And most of things that fill you with dread, 
Are usually just made up in your head.

The King's Note is from the great children's tale Mikey and The Dragons by Jocko Willink.