Distant Shores

When he was but a lad of eight the sand-drenched shores of distant lakes beckoned from three miles away ~ her wave-tossed fingers calling Ten years anon the world did widen ocean's spray from coastal islands coughed up rarest treasures ~ enticing newly freed horizons Now twenty-eight, in life's full bloom yearning for those distant shores of frozen, ice-capped polar regions ~ penguins preened and pranced at his good fortune 'Twas then and there he realized that the borders of true distant shores extended far beyond this homely planet ~bending space and time galactically How to reach them is his challenge Missiles, rockets, telescopes -- scientific hope Quantume physics, string theory, spiraling gyroscopes ~ myriad multiverses teasing mortal minds Yet the farthest out he dare does go Terrestrial winds inside him blow: O, distant shores come back to me ~ on winged ships of entropy '