dauntless

the world
will affront you,
assault you, abuse you
frustrate and confuse you.
in matters great and small,
it will help you rise
just to watch you fall.
there is no mistaking
that living's painstaking
and progress hard won
by inches not miles;
but still, worth your while.
be dauntless, my child!
blaze trails through trials
so the people behind you
face other denials -
that they'll then upend
again and again
until inches are miles
and the distance you've
traveled is unmistakable.
and you, tempered by fire,
have become unbreakable.