Bravery

I could tell you about brave acts:
The people of France were brave
when they rose and started the revolution.
My roommate was brave when he
asked the girl out, shouting it out loud
in a flag ceremony.
(it is my opinion, though
it is still a brave act
if not performed before the national anthem)
A cherry tree is brave when it blossoms
for no more than a few short days.
The gazelle is brave,
the cheetah is brave too.
Brave were the soldiers,
brave were their mothers
and wives and sons and children
battle after battle;
but
no being in the entire huge universe
has been, is or will be as brave
as the shopkeeper in İzmir
who named his female boutique
"Hippopotamus".