Life!

A journey without guided instructions.
There is no yellow brick road.
You carve your own path,
knocking down walls of iron stone.
Yet also setting up barriers to hurtle over.
Life is like a playground.
There will be ladders to climb
with light at the top
and the gratification of success,
which comes with a ride
down the slide,
left without regrets.
Still, eager for more,
soaring higher into an infinite sky.
Flying faster but landing harder
and at times falling off
to land in a pile of mud,
the dream shattered by snapped rope.
It only stretches so far…
Hands curled around thick bars,
your destination, the platform up ahead.
Yet weakness grips you
like a heart weighed down by burdens
and your fingers become slick with sweat.
Still, you struggle to press forward
until finally your fingers tire
and let go.
The sand rises to meet you in a wave
that crashes downs like a ton of bricks,
a reminder that your life is anything
but eternal.