Risk

I read about a snowboard guy
Who had a lofty dream:
He wanted to become a part
Of the Olympic team.

While practicing a complex move,
He fell and hit his head;
And now, at twenty-two years old,
His dreams and he are dead.

Some people thrive on risk and dares;
It courses through their blood,
While others’ forays in that vein
Get nipped right in the bud.

To dabble in adventure
You must like to take your chances;
After all, the danger there
Is what, to most, enhances.

But to those who play it safe,
It’s hard to comprehend
The lure of living at the edge:
One step can mean the end.

And so I read of lives cut short,
Not by the hand of fate.
They died while doing what they loved,
But I cannot relate.