Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way…

– Dylan Thomas, ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’

We tend to ignore those who play it safe; the wild
among us celebrated for their daring, men
who ‘think outside the box’ are those who
get the credit over the ones who truly caught
what it means to act, not just speak, and
then went out to succeed; their praises not sang
often by anyone who is heard, anyone who knows the
words to commemorate deeds, looking into the sun
and not being blinded by platitudes, or coming in
at the end only to seize all the credit before taking flight.

To those we accord pompous accolades, and
those who do what is needed, in the shadows we learn
that effort is not fleeting, not unnoticed, be we too
must curry the resolve to engage those who live, not late
in the effort, not after they are gone, not when they
are not around to grasp appreciation instead of grieved
remembrances; we need to let those we love know it;
selfishness is a paltry excuse for just moving on
acknowledgement over flattery, success is, by nature, its
own. Do not go gentle; that night is not the only way.

– Mark L. Lucker
© 2017
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