A Reasonable Distinction

When becoming less tiger
Stripes muted and splotchy
Being so much better
Than curses and drats

Darts off the board
You would never go to catch them
A Richard or Simón might
But maybe only after a bad bull beat

I might have mentioned
Less of me
Less of you too
If I forgot to mention

People not figuring on the adventure
Just right
Or not talking about that
In particular
Like parachuting
Ground lined with parachutes
Maybe not exciting for an Emilio or Giorgio
But for circus animals
That need a good sleep
A long snowy mountain pass
Works just fine
Stoke the coals
And power through

I'm not in complete agreement
That "power through" should be used in any circumstance
But there is the glorification of physical feats
That can come across as corny
And there are matters of much greater importance
That honor all sayings
With broken hind legs
And tongue strokes on wounded scrapes
And whimpers that come from a dark cave

That cave where anything could happen
Except fury and defeat
Those things we save for soft landings
With no parachute
No timeline
And no books flush to the edge
--
5.14.12