Not the Park

Fortitude is endurance’s friend.
Riding miles, hundreds of them—
Always under suspicion for
Never taking unnecessary sides.
Circuit riding turned into hiding.
Isolated even when in company.
Still, nothing will stop this cause.

Agency moves against the grain,
Severed from conflict with authority.
But what happens when that intervention
Unilaterally creates an organization
Religiously set to consume itself?
Yet, greatness fathers future failures.

POET’S NOTE:

An acrostic Scorched Sunday poem. Part of my Scorched Strays collection. This piece explores the complicated legacy of influence. Every movement begins with conviction. Every institution begins with movement. The distance between the two is often measured in generations.

© 2026 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.