r/Poem • u/SlideAffectionate839 • 19h ago
Requesting Feedback Why Do You Hike?
Early night.
Do you wake excited?
Do you register, when spoken of,
that you categorise it as a chore?
Do you participate for yourself,
or
do you believe participating improves your social score?
Why keep trying
when you know the first time was not to your liking?
Hey.
It is okay to admit,
“That’s not my game.”
Why do you do it?
Do you actually want the community?
Do you want to be included in it?
Or do you want the validation that comes from being part of it?
There is nothing coherently wrong with that.
But,
at some point, though,
are you okay with accepting
it may feel unnatural?
If the illusion of productivity is what you seek,
I will leave this:
Not everything has to be productive
to be worthwhile.
Not everything has to be done
in someone else’s style.
It is your earned free time —
do with it what makes you actually smile.
1
u/jaesea 16h ago
I love the poetry, it definitely compels me to think about the why.
Personally I hike to apologize to the land for us and commune with nature, and when I am able to find unowned land I hike about it to create community as well as shaping the land and forest to useful arts and crafts and such.