Aspiration’s Burnout
by Odin Roark

Burnout our ever-present nemesis
Affording no exclusion for youth
Luring achievers
Dissing nonstarters

Becoming one’s essence
Knows well jeopardy’s exposure
Like that of any warrior-heart
Striving for excellence
There must be endurance
To confront interminable blocks

But fearless courage
Knows obstacles are fought
With varied weaponry
To clear impassable paths

Often one’s arsenal
Is void of cutting
Penetrating
Or disintegrating barriers

Opting instead
The art of persuasion
Using word and gesture
Honesty’s optimism

Ahead

Always ahead
Rendered breakthroughs
Offer untrammeled mindscapes
Where having navigated life’s razor wire
Devotion’s reward awaits

And we

Eager to soothe passion’s spent energy
Our weary lavatic-like bubbles
Having conquered the pressured depths
Vie for weightless suspension
Wanting some brief respite
Some halcyon comfort
Before defying once again
Aspiration’s burnout