randy cooper

FLY ALONE

Fly Alone
No guide to show the way.
No net to catch you when you fall.
And you will fall
If you learned nothing else it is that you will fall.

But you learn to get up.
Dust off.
Shake off the stones
And start again.
No worse for wear.
But you learned a lot on the way down.

You learned to enjoy the view.
You learned that you really should smell the roses.
The roses all smell different.
Now the roses smell sweeter than they ever did before.
The second time around they bring a lot more pleasure.
The second time around they are a lot prettier.

You learned to take nothing for granted.
You learned that nothing will really last.
You now know that this could all end in one flash.
One moment and it is all changed.