Chose the Strenuous Life
In this plush modern world of convenience
where everything you could want can be sent
to your house with just a single mouse-click,
it’s no wonder men feel depressed and sick.
A sex evolved for hard peril and work,
now just sits around, unchallenged, inert.
More and more I think ol’ Teddy was right,
we have got to choose the strenuous life.
It seems harder to do that now-a-days,
the rough jobs of old have all gone away,
the modern jobs just make your soul scream,
tapping away at keys, staring at screens,
never seeing what comes of your toil
can get a man all anxious and roiled,
what we do for family, and for our wives,
makes it hard to embrace strenuous life.
But in our free time the choice does remain:
Push for you limits, or more of the same.
See this awesome world filtered on the net,
or explore it in person, much better yet.
'Cause no Jpeg made can capture the feel
of a rocky mountain or fast four wheel,
no video made captures country nights,
that’s only found in the strenuous life.
Get out on a weekend to mountain trails,
find a place to rides horses, but watch the tail!
Put a canoe or kayak in a fast stream,
then come back later for some fly fishing
come Fall go out and take part in the hunt,
lay in a garden to soak up the sun,
better still bring along the kids and wife,
give them a taste of the strenuous life.
Try building that deck, don’t hire it out,
harvest your firewood, cut that tree down,
repair you own car, learn it as you go,
read ’till your mind is always in the know,
something impressive once a year do learn,
fill time full of life, you have none to burn,
be something impressive in your kid’s sight,
teach by example the strenuous life.
And though it may seem a challenge at first,
you’ll soon find fulfillment in what you’ve earned,
that you’ve lived a real life, conquered the wilds,
not just spent your time with keyboards and dials,
true achievement fires imagination,
more than mere electronic imitations.
Too much comfort will dull a man’s sharp knife,
give it a keen edge with the strenuous life.
Copyright © David Welch | Year Posted 2018
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