The Man

He swam across the sea 

Thinking that it would change him

1,000 miles of the cold water

And he sliced through it

Without looking back

Determined to change

Fearless in the face of the infinite horizon 

He had to change

And he figured that there was no other way

Than to do the impossible

To suffer and keep going 

Raging against the tides

Would have to change his mind 

He’d chisel a new man out of his soul

A new person would be forced to arise . . .

But

It was to his surprise

That when he crossed the sea

That he still didn’t like the man he could see

No, he still had the same fears

And he still had the same life

He still had the same soul

All he did

Was swim pretty damn far

But everything within him

Stayed exactly the same

And the man figured he’d have to go insane

If he really wanted to change

So

He started to climb Everest 

One thing he couldn’t let himself do 

Was rest

To him

Everything was a test

Pass or fail

Change or stay stale 

Grow or fall behind  

Sharpen the mind 

Or fall victim to time . . .

So he climbed

And climbed

And step after step

It got harder to breathe

Step after step

It got harder to believe

Step after step

It got harder to live

Step after step

He had to remind himself why he was doing it

Step after step

He battled the wind

Step after step 

Nothing changed within . . .

And then

He got to the top

And spent 15 seconds looking out at the world from his view above the clouds

And then

He headed back down 

And next 

He figured he’d run a marathon 

And he did

But when he crossed the finish line

He was still the same person in his mind 

And then he thought that he had better head to the moon

Because if he did that

Surely he would change soon

So he built a rocket

And left earth

And he hoped to God

This was the start of his rebirth 

But when he got to the moon

And looked back down to earth

He realized that his birth was his birth

That he was who he was

And he forgave himself

For not feeling grand

He forgave himself for ever wanting to be more than just a man . . .

He let go of his unrealistic expectations for himself and everyone else

And he finally felt free just to be

Yes, finally he was free . . . to just be.

CH 3/22/24 (Wassuhhh? Yes, you. Spank you for reading, btw. Bless you and have a good night. I'll see you again tomorrow. Or maybe the next day. )