A Parable: The Athlete And The Crippled Man Poem by Chris Embrick

A Parable: The Athlete And The Crippled Man

Rating: 5.0


There was a young athletic man
Who let no challenge go to waste
His father hung his head in shame
If he came in second place
One day he climbed the mountain
Near his father's estate
He said: 'I'll prove to my father
That his son is no light weight'
And so began his obsession
To never settle for second best
He would prove to the world
He was ahead of the rest
Then one day on a higher mountain
Moving at a snails pace
He met a crippled man on the trail
With a smile upon his face
And thought to himself:
What's a crippled man doing here
What's he trying to prove
He should be in a convalescent home
Why he can barely move
If he makes it to the top
He'll probably never get back down

A few hours later, the athlete
Joined his friends at the pub in town
And so mountain after mountain
Each one higher than the one before
He pushed his body to the limits
Never satisfied, always needing more
On and on he pushed himself
Until in the middle of middle age
He finally conquered Mount Everest
To his friends cheers and accolades
The he thought to himself one day
I've climbed the highest mountain there is to climb
What else is there for a man like me
What will I do with all my time
And so after a few months of elation
He sank into a deep depression
His ego wanting more
He drove his body stiff and sore
To the clinic and his therapy session
And passing by a restaurant
Recognized the crippled man
Surrounded by a group of happy friends
Filling the air with laughter, sharing smiles

And for a moment wished he could exchange
Places for just a little while
Then thought how foolish it would be
For a man of his status to associate with such
And so he arrived at the clinic
Paid the doctor to sit and listen for an hour
Made a new appointment leaving
None the better, none the worse
His ego driving the man
Still obsessed with being first
This man never learned
How to live without strife
And how to recognize and enjoy
The simple pleasures of this life
Or how to use his talents on things that really matter
He only thought how important he was
And made his ego fatter

And still clinging to his trophies
Empty and alone
Sank deeper into bitterness in a world of his own
With pride on one shoulder
On the other deep depression
He never learned from the crippled man
Life's simple lesson
You see to the crippled man
The mountain that he climbed
Was every bit as high as Everest
But he didn't have to prove a thing
He only had to do his best
The crippled man learned from experience
That you can be happy just by trying
That first place is not always so grand
It's not how tall you are
But how tall you stand
It's staying in the race that matters
Even when you stumble
The biggest winners in this life
Are those whose hearts are humble.

Saturday, September 16, 2017
Topic(s) of this poem: handicapped
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Kumarmani Mahakul 16 September 2017

Young athletic man was careful about challenges he faced in life. The mountain that he climbed was every bit as high as Everest. Strong determination brought success for him and his ambition was fulfilled. Excellently penned poem is presented here. ...10

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Chris Embrick

Chris Embrick

Commerce, Georgia
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