he looked upon the world and saw that it was bad
well, not bad so much as hostile
from birth, your only certain ending was death
and nothing he knew made death attractive
unless it was a stillness so deep
nothing could hurt you any more
he counted on that
he knew or thought he did
other men lived lives stunted to avoid the scythe
but he defied
he prowled into caves
he climbed rock faces
he ran into unexplored fields
despite knowing that broken boards with old nail points
acted as secret sentries
he walked up to a horse
at least twice as tall as he was
but could not figure out how to mount
so he just talked to it
and wondered what he'd do if it talked back
older, he walked into deserts
and every time walked back out
he climbed trees in forests
if he could reach a starting place
he stuck his boot into a cleft
he damned near couldn't get it out of
he tumbled sideways off his motorcycle
had to climb back up to it
right it and untangle pieces
before he could ride away
yes, he defied
and so far hasn't died
and still thinks the world
hostile terrain for a required hike
that offers no merit badge he knows of
but just like he defied
he walks with pride now
wraps himself in humanity
and stands sometimes on mountain ridges
one foot to each side
staring down on square miles of beauty
and a million ways to die
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