Not for the faint of heart
By Susana Bridgman
"Adventure calls!" You say..
With eagerness of heart and deep
longing in your soul you chase after the horizon
What's painted as a pretty picture
the romantic mystery of the unknown
is soon transposed through the awakening of your self awareness
All at once the beauty becomes terrifying,
The wild becomes desolate
You realize your alone, with no thoughts but your own.
Curled up in confusion and
yearning for the rest and comfort of familiarity,
adventure doesn't seem so keen
What was once at the tip of your fingers
now lies miles away, stretched out amidst
the lands that many tarried before
Oh the toils of hard work and sweat,
having to accomplish the feat
before receiving the reward
They call it a "mountain top experience"
and neglect to tell the tails of valleys
traveled and desserts wandered
What is it's worth?
This wanderlust they speak so high of?
Leathered, withered skin.
Eyes that glimmer, but have seen
and felt darkness and despair.
Hands that could tell stories of the wilderness
that proved who was superior,
with a body that proves how
resilient the creator made the human being.
Cracked lips, and tangled hair,
The wilderness is not fair
Blisters burning, winds that sting,
and heat that simmers through your skin.
Animals beautiful and foul,
trees that stretch upwards miles tall
Mountains that tease you
with their majestic appeal,
The reward that you earn isn't near as great
as the experienced gained through walking untamed territories.
Through trial and turmoil the adventurer presses on
Not by some fancy or means of performance
But by the call of the wild that torments them every step that they take
Because the true adventure knows
it's not just a means of performance but an opportunity to be changed
To let whatever happen, happen
That you can't tame the wilderness, in fact it will make one wild
Throwing out the reserve and naivety that the young adventurer jumps into,
But walking away as an old soul that understands
the depth to which adventure holds and that
it shouldn't be held lightly but treated with respect
Adventure is out there,
but not for the faint of heart
