Hunting For

They always thought—said, ‘you can’t’

at the schools he attended, in the

army, to him, by his friends

he’d walk in like whatsoever

he had worked, days and nights, all hours.

Hard times, often broke, steadfast with mule-

like fortitude, he marched on, the underdog turned wolf

as if from underneath some curse

a devils spell that was long planted.

‘You mustn’t tire,’ he told himself, of the dreams and

past efforts he could admire, if only by himself

and over in his mind—he climbed

to the top of the heap, where tired men sleep, and

pushed on, like granite. He wrote book after

book and traveled the worldwide,

and measured his hours he’d spent, building

his kingdom, becoming rich, helping family

and friends, winning prizes,

living in the moment, unafraid—no more pretense,

saving all those attributes, those works of art

that had carved his world so long ago.

Note: Sometimes a deficit can be the stepping stone to success. My daughter was told, she’d never be able to read, mentally retarded; my son, Shawn who got 93% in a countrywide intelligence test, way above average, became a bum, and my daughter became a learner. That is to say, she learned to read and write, something her doctors and educators said she’d not be able to do. But day after day, after month after year, she did succeed. Also sometimes where we live the environment we live in, kind of spells out what we are supposed to be. I was raised in a troublesome neighborhood, the only one that went to college, and perhaps the only one to travel worldwide. You got to make a plan, and work it out. I’ve noticed on my way up, and when I was down, people give up. Perhaps that is good, it leaves some gaps open for me. The second insight I learned, was to grab opportunity, at one time I would have said, “Not me”, now I say, “why not me?” And go ahead with the plan.