Warriors
We witness the dominant genes
of the old bear
challenged by the upcoming young.
The primordial, inevitable take-over
of the elder, alpha
by evolutions upgrade pup.
Experience, expertise and over-arching reach is set against
the sheer testosterone, full-on
power and gut of youth.
The gladiators, champions of yore,
contested to the death - kingdoms and lives at stake;
true to the creaturely pattern
of wolf, stallion, bull, seal
- reptile, insect and fish
for precedence, whether reproductively, territorially or socially
until today - played out in gentlemanly duals, without a drop of blood;
but the same principles,
the quintessential trials of skill, wit
and will
pitted not just against each other
but with the Self’s own self.
Mighty heroes, exemplars of strength, endurance, belief.
The vanquishing of doubt
and at the end of the day,
the irrelevance of outcomes
- except as incentives,
and regardless of gender:
to win or lose with grace
subsidiary to the integrity
of epic doing with be-ing,
in and for itself.
The journey of sport a microcosm
and analogy of life and attitude
compressed, sped up.
.
16/7/23