A Long Way Down

Be careful you young ones, 
up ahead there is a cliff, 
be careful as you walk with your head all full of freedom but otherwise all empty. 

It is time to grow up, 
Yes, you! 
I am speaking to you! 
About the world, 
about how you won't navigate it safely in that boat you have barely built.

(not yet ready to sail the seas...) 

No momentum gained, 
no motion sustained...

There are inevitable consequences to constantly being told that mediocrity is exceptionality.

No momentum gained, 
no motion sustained.

Now you are all off and on your way, 
gathering up all the gold you can find, 
only to find out later, 
it is only dust, 
and in the end it will all just blow away, 
what is coming is the hardest lesson of life, 
only learned in the endless way that time keeps coming and going and never, ever stops. 

You will come to realize that you are not invincible,
there are final answers to questions that you do not want to ask, 
reasons rushing by, 
left untouched but reaching out anyway, 
those places are all steep, 
bringing tears to unlined faces, 
leaving their tracks over time. 

Soon you will be reaching and coming to know that fear that is contained in a handful of dust, 
measuring out your regret because you did not pay proper attention, 
learn to watch where you step, 
because it is a long way down, 
only stepm where you can see that there is space to move. 

I saw the two of you, 
looking at each other, 
eyes wide open, 
on full display, 
forever and ever, 
unaware that far away, 
in places you can't yet see, 
you will come to realize the way is steep, 
and those eyes won't always be so wide. 

From here the cliffs spread out, 
they become steeper as life goes on, 
then comes the realization that climbing up is almost impossible, 
this is the harshest shot, between the eyes, from the big time world. 

As you descend, remember this lesson, 
especially from those who have already been where you are, 
keep looking over your shoulder, 
making mental notes of you shadow at mid day, 
because soon it will be evening. 

Time will ascend, 
you will only descend. 

T. S. Deary 
PAFM
5/17/23 - 11/1/24