You may live life
as a risky rebel
loosing sight of
all safety boundaries
without so much as a care
but being one of the lucky ones.
When for some the
road may drop into
a vast, dark, space
never to be seen in the
light of day again
Risky rebels should be
more aware of short comings.

We may live life
in dark quarters
like a squatting mushroom
afraid to venture out
into the big world.
It may swallow you up.
Better to stay where
it's always safe
with the option to have
the curtains open or shut
Squatting mushrooms
should open the door
and embrace experiences.

We may live life
as a courageous cowboy
oblivion to any fear.
With eyes wide open
so not to miss a thing.
No task is too hard or large
in fact, any challenge
is met with
"The more the merrier!"
These courageous cowboys
might need to take
some time to rest
to encourage longevity.

We may live life
as a smiley emoji
No matter what is going
on around one's reality
there's always a permanent
smile across the face.
But something is missing
to turn the straight line
into a circle.
For a smiley emoji
thoughts of feeling
different expressions
may round off an
empty, frozen smile.

We may live life
as one, two, three or all
of what I am made up of.
Bits and pieces of chaos.
Eyes open or shut.
Arms spread wide, waiting
for the next adventure
wearing a smile that knows
when to turn down into a frown
I'm not perfect, not even close, but
I've made it through most
of life's emotional experiences.
I can say, I have survived to live
and not lived to survive.