Bountiful
Boyhood charm
Was taken with ease
By teenage tribulation

It was wrung dry
In his lifelong climb
As he clamored, for Everest
To claim it’s majesty

Yet all, wide-eyed pleasantries
Were forever lost
In a sudden spurt of growth
In a passing moment
Of faux clarity

Now
Is the hour
He ascends fiendishly
Atop the remains
Of once tried and true friends