So much to overcome

So much to overcome

Every day

He stands on a battlefield

Shies away from the big guns

Lined up to cut his legs from under

The world is full of snipers

A nest of angry vipers

With sharp eyes waiting for him to fail

Once again

Head in hands

Ruminating about his lot

How many mountains yet to climb

There is another one, on the far horizon

Every day a lesson in endurance

He is a dead man

Ghosting through the world

Life slipped through his fingers

Before he noticed it was gone

When was the last time

He hefted an axe

Cut down a tree for Christmas

Sang carols beneath a street lamp

Stole a kiss at midnight

Ran his fingers through someone else’s hair

Let a tear of joy

Run from his eye

Instead of an uneasy rheumy weeping,

Blurring the edges of his vision

Giving him a soft-focus image

Of the world

Whilst leaving the harshness of its reality

To take the edge off any relief

He might feel,

At least until he has completed

The first task of the day

Breaking down the mountain,

Is the only way

To proceed

One-piece at a time is his mantra

Making the unachievable

Seem less daunting if not altogether easy

He will be unlikely to recall his victory

Come tomorrow

And the struggle will continue

Every day until he beholds

The meaning of success

Is not in the winning

But in the never giving up.