The Boy, The Man (Long Version) [Poem]

He grew up in a world of softness.
Every want was devotedly satisfied,
every pain urgently healed,
every vice swiftly forgiven.

He became an unnatural thing:
a little boy inside the body of a growing man.

He knew he had the best of all possible burdens.
And he was grateful,
though he was spiritually disfigured.

Within him grew a longing
to be purged of all that is soft!
He craved discipline and danger,
for how can one rise to greatness,
in a world of ease and fairness?

This tension cannot last much longer!

The Boy or The Man:
one of them
must
DIE!

He left home!
Even as it tearfully clung to him.
He went venturing into strange lands,
seeking foes and ordeals menacing enough
to make him strong.

He used to think:
all great frontiers have already been conquered,
so what use is there of tenacity and courage?
But in that strange land he discovered:
The great frontier is ever-new.

He entered the world of trials,
He had to deny wants.
He had to withstand pain,
he had to overcome vice.

He was becoming the man he would be proud to be.

He knew he had the best of all possible blessings.
And he was grateful.