*

reckless begins the odyssey
when all feeble ties abandon
and shrewd the wish to chart the stars
until a Dipper pours its angel dust
and blind Orion's sword finds its mark

how terrible the dare that motivates
a brazen sailor to kiss
the face of Devil's Thumb
that allows blood-mingled tears to cleanse
doubts before each vision, intruding
yonder barred horizons
        
by an election of grace, a tramping soul
chooses a smorgasbord of adventure
even though uncertain, wanders those heights
unafraid to explore alongside deep crevasses
able to swallow an army
        
but sovereign, the taloned eagle mounts to rise
above fierce tempests bullying the ground
aerobat between cumulus scowls
revels in native freeing skies
but returns to earth, a tortured soul--
since only wild and disengaged
—the warrior lives

*