solitude

waves breaking vehemently
on a little boy on a raft in the deep
as the rowers push forward

from the bank, escorted to this peak

until he stands over a boiling mountain top
ready to accept a fate of sacrifice
                for the family
                for the people
                for love

one always dies for the rest of us

a boy too curious stays searching
until he'd wanders too far and loses
himself
in the dark and in the deep
and knows not whether to turn back
or to make the proverbial leap