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In First Place

I’ve heard,
hold my beer and watch this.
Said it myself.
Miraculously,
I survived
to tell you
of my teenage temerity,
disregarding risk,
contempt for danger.

Like others, I was certain I’d live
forever.
Also, like survivors,
I now know I will not.

I want to go out in a blaze of glory,
not drenched in tomfoolery. Therefore,
I shall decline all qualifying events
for next year’s Darwin Awards.

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Look both ways for the consequences of your own confidence.
Mind the gaps for the parenthetical excuses of fools.