The Chase

And I keep chasing after it,

The pursuit has become an obsession.

Because I know in my bones

I'm closer than I've ever been.

I've been hunting for 100 years now.

Or so it seems.

I'm not the only one after it,

Everyone I know is on the same quest.

But it's okay,

Because the prize I seek

Cannot be claimed by him, or her, or you.

It is mine alone.

It is mine to seize and conquer.

If only I can find it.

This reward I seek is a slippery one,

I once managed to get a handful,

Only to have its elusive form shift,

And slip from my desperate grasp.

Another time I was certain

That it was mine.

My triumphant cry was cut short

By the traitorous bastard who

Made false promises.

He offered the reward I sought,

Without telling me the price was

My freedom.

And the reward he handed me was a fake.

As if I wouldn't notice a counterfeit.

And so the chase continues,

I run alongside strangers and friends,

All of us on the hunt.

There are stragglers,

Their journey has worn them down.

Some have given up,

Laying down, forfeiting any hope they had.

Some have been driven mad,

There are unkempt men with rough edges,

And feral women dancing with the moon.

I feel sorry for them.

Until the uneasy thought hits -

Maybe they found their prizes,

The reward is what lit the spark

And causes the fire in their wild eyes.

No matter, I forge ahead,

Looking back is not an option.

I will run, I will seek, I will chase.

My elusive prey will surrender soon.

I'm right on the edge

Of everything I ever wanted.

Just out of reach,

Just beyond my line of vision,

Just there.

My happily ever after just waiting

For me to reach out and take it.

My happily ever after -

In the arms of a man who accepts me,

Holding the hand of a child I birthed.

Blanketed in the security of their love.

Love forged in fire, made stronger

By the trials faced along the way.

This is the prize I seek,

This is only reward worth dying for.