Poem # 3 - WanderLust

Poem # 3 - WanderLust

Ever been on a hike in a forest and come to a trail junction -- and wanted to go BOTH ways? I do. Always. My curiosity kicks in and I just want to wander every possible route and discover what's just around that curve in the trail or just over that rise. Or when I'm paddling down a river and come to a canyon. I want to hike up the canyon and explore its farthest reaches. It isn't always possible to do such exploration, but the longing is always there. This poem celebrates such desires.

WanderLust

Curious to know what's over that riseor around that bend?
What's a mile beyond here,
or a minute beyond now?

Courageous enough to scale that intervening rise
and round that obscuring bend?
To venture that further mile
and live that eternal minute?

What education may the side canyon confer?
What treasures may the endless trail unearth

or the infinite night sky reveal?
What headwaters of new-thought await?

Wilderness is home to the soul,
and its sights and sounds and scents
vital to the soul's nourishment,
beckoning one's spirit.

Abandon inertia and reap Nature's bounty:
moments to savor,
memories to share; both
mementoes to save.

Travel both diverging paths
within yonder yellow wood.
Be one traveler who avoids
the sorrow of the road not taken.

Curiosity kills neither cat nor man,
but bequeaths adventure and mission and exultation
to otherwise humdrum existence.
Acquiescence kills.

Yet few Dare.
Even fewer Do.
But none who Do
ever regret.

copyright 1997 by Chuck Morlock