i wondered if my stupid fear would get my best friend killed . i 'm used to performing in front of several hundred people . ever since i was little , i felt i was supposed to be a poet , but for the longest time , i never had anything to say . one of those cottages your father built , she went on . in a way , that was the horror of it . `` let 's not travel that road , darling , '' he said in a warning voice . 