Oh Radiant Youth – August 6, 2015

– Alexandre Deschaumes

Oh radiant youth –
standing on the verge of life
heedless before life’s perils
he sails down the open river
mindless of the shallows
he can’t wait to get his teeth
into the meat of life
radiant he walks without a mask
(that will only emerge later)
soon he learns his bones can break
soon he learns those perils
as he walks the lonely track
that many walked before him …
then longing for serenity
after those first of life’s battles
he collapses into reflection
of the what life has thus revealed …
will he become a cynic,
will he be a saint,
or will he be yet another drifter
living from day-to-day?

© G.s.k. ‘15

Photo Challenge #72, Verge

AND

The Sunday Whirl – 210