Failures & Fallers

There are two kinds of people in this world you see,

There are Failures and Fallers and nothing between.

Although there are many similarities it would seem,

There are even greater differences unseen.

And at first these variations are quite small,

Invisible to most, but not necessarily to all.

For both will strike out on their journey headstrong,

Unaware of the hardships they will face before long.

The walk their paths with a cheerful smile,

But this easy going lasts only a while.

Soon rocks and roots cover the road’s surface,

Threatening challenges to their ultimate purpose.

These obstacles reach out for the traveler’s feet,

And with them come thoughts of despair and defeat.

They stumble and fall while onlookers stare,

Each gets back up, little worse for the wear.

Now hesitant and cautious, they continue to walk,

The spectators watching, starting to gawk.

The ground becomes sandy, rocky, and rough,

The Failure now thinking he’s had quite enough.

The Faller is encouraged by trodding new ground,

Excited to overcome the obstacles around.

Again, they both trip land in the dirt,

Now their pride above all else is beginning to hurt.

The spectators nearby all laugh, joke, and jeer,

But the Faller is enlightened for he leans not on cheer.

The Failure lets doubt begin to settle like a cloud,

And a spirit of quit covers him like a shroud.

He looks back at his fellows all relaxed and all resting,

If they are so happy, why endure all this testing?

He turns toward the Faller down the road ahead,

Where the path turns to forest, desolate and dead.

With a last parting glance his gaze drifts towards home,

Leaving the determined Faller to travel alone.

The Faller presses on, forward, persistently climbing,

Continuously stumbling, falling, and rising.

His trail leads him upward, onward, inside, and out,

Through mountains, and valleys, and tunnels about.

He is alone now, no jesters to joke,

Only himself clinging onto his hope.

Beaten and battered, broken and bruised,

The Faller’s resolve is beginning to lose.

A full day of falling and rising and falling again,

Is taking its toll on his decision to win.

An outstretching tendril of a tree caught his foot,

Making him land face down in the ashes and soot.

He wonders now if he should have turned back,

And followed the Failure to a lifetime of slack.

But there is nothing worth keeping back there in that place,

In the land of the Failures, the land of disgrace.

So with the last of his strength, the Faller stood to his feet,

Dreaming the end of his journey, and who he would meet.

He tore down the path, tears lining his cheeks,

Leaving behind them river-like streaks.

There was no turning back, no giving up now,

He didn’t know if he’d make it, he didn’t know how.

He raced over the top of the last hill in sight,

And the vision he saw was worth all his plight.

For there on the horizon, just beyond reach,

Was a small group of people, on a white, sandy beach.

He stood there in shock at the crest of the hill,

His heart pounding, pulse racing, as time simply stood still.

He sprang from his stance, and he rushed down to tell,

His tale of a dangerous and daring journey through Hell.

He screamed as he ran, a cry of passion and pain,

For the reward was well worth all his toil and strain.

The crowd by the sea saw the man drawing near,

And gathered in wait, to greet and to cheer.

He stopped at the edge of the sand and he thought,

And reflected once more on the battle he’d fought.

He thought back to the Failure, who’d given up early in the trip,

All because of a few stumbles, missteps, and slips.

A small price to pay for this reward of great glory,

And suddenly he realized that this wasn’t everyone’s story.

The onlookers and jesters at the start of his travels,

Were merely more Failures, whose wills had unraveled.

The Failure that turned back, now joined those ranks,

And would attempt to strip from more Fallers their strength.

The group on the beach, he noticed was actually quite small,

And he realized with sadness, that this would be all.

All of those Failures would most likely stay,

In that place of discomfort, discord, and dismay.

And this is the choice that faces us all,

The decision is yours, to Fail or to Fall.