Originally published in In The Steps magazine in 1978,   ©1978.

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In The Steps Of The Treasure Hunter
by
H. Kent Craig



I am the one who has walked into worlds unknown
I am the one who has walked more times than not
into this world's twilight zones


I am the one who has gone forward
when everyone else was walking backwards
I am the one who pushed on
so mankind could follow where I had gone


I am the one who sought the ends of the Earth
even though graced by faces filled with mirth
I pushed myself to the limits of my endurance
comforted only by my self-assurance
that what I did, I did for the progress of man
to explore and inhabit new lands
was beyond reprimand


But my critics called me ruthless conquerer
and cried the only way to stop me for sure
was to send me to the gallows
Oh, it sorrows me that these people were so shallow


I, not they, faced impossible risks
in a land where none of our people ever did exist
I, not they, went blindly into hell's fire
I, not they, fell into quicksand's mire


All for what, they ask?
Why did you take upon yourself such an impossible task?


Some say the riches of the new lands were my aim
but I say not
since the dead can not spend new-found gains
Some say I did it for land, slaves, or power
other say it was because I wanted to be man of the hour


How wrong, how ignorantly wrong all of you are
about the reasons I risked my life to travel far
to lands beyond the last sunrise
where no man knows what lies


I did it because of my sense of adventure
along with a quest for knowledge no man could censure
Being a gambler does help a bit
but more than anything, testing my self-confidence
self-assurance, and self-determination
was the main part of it


Failure is not success unachieved
but a refusal to believe
in yourself
above all else


And to say I faced impossible odds and stood my ground
makes for success nowhere else to be found
To use my life as I see fit
is the reason I wanted every part of it


That is the reason when I lie dying
you will see me smiling, not sighing
Because I stood my ground when no one else did
I can say I lived my life
as I believe it should have been lived

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