Into the Wild

I’ve seen it in the sky
As I looked up at it
I’ve seen it in the river
As it ran by me

I’ve seen it in the desert
As I trudged through it
I’ve seen it in the plains
As the wind blew across them

I‘ve seen it,
And it’s beautiful.

I’ve seen it in the canyons
As I looked down into them
I’ve seen it in the woods
As I hiked into them

I’ve seen it in the oceans
As I gazed across the horizon
I’ve seen it in the mountains
As I surmounted and conquered them

I’ve seen it,
And it’s beautiful.

I’ve seen it in the faces
As they looked back at me
And I’ve seen it in their homes
And I’ve seen it in their eyes

And I’ve seen it in their care for me
And I’ve seen it on the road,
I’ve seen it on the tracks,
As trains carry their heavy load,

I’ve seen it,
And it’s beautiful,
Yet I’ve not seen it
In myself

I’ve not seen it in seclusion
Or in the wild
Or in stubborn rebellion
Or in the struggles of the world

It’s frustrating to see
There’s no one around
And that there’s no chance
That I’ll be found

I’ve seen its beauty
Sleeping out there
And through my struggles
And loneliness out here

Through calculations
And philosophies
And literatures
And hypotheses

It’s a sad beauty,
And I finally know what it is.

And sleeping here,
Lonely, lukewarm, and stripped bare –
I’ve finally realized
That happiness is only real
When you have some to share.

This poem is based on a movie based on a book about a college graduate who tried to find happiness by running away from home and hitchhiking across the country to rough it the Alaskan taiga. He ended up dying in an abandoned bus; hungry, sad, and alone. He left his story in his journal, and etched into his leather belt, and hence the book, movie, and now, my rendition of his story in a poem.

Ever More

Sleep, my darling...
For tomorrow,
Your life with the day begins anew,
Again and again and again,
Except for those nights of those fateful few
That don't wake up again
So when you wake up again
Thankfulness is demanded of you
That you lived through the night
Until the first beam of sunlight,
And pray, too,
You'll not die tomorrow as well
To sleep forever more,
Though it's daylight when you fall,
So you'll live 'till another night
And pray you'll live that night, too,
And every night and every day,
Be thankful you all
To what ever power you believe in
And even if not a power
That you're alive each and every day,
And you survived through every night
Each and every rotation of the earth
During your life so far
And ever more, ever more.