The man chose the wilderness As the place that he should live. He would up and leave his family And all belongings away would give. Pulling on a canvas bag, Over a weathered coat, A canoe behind did he drag, Hoping it would float. Off he went, Into the great unknown, And months he spent Without company but his own. He ate naught But what nature gave, Suffering what the seasons brought, To them he was a slave. Finally, after many full moons He was to loneliness drained. Having no friends nor boons, Nor wisdom from suffering gained. So once more his canoe he did board, The miles of land and lakes he would ford Until he came upon the roads of towns, Deafened by cultured sounds. Suddenly, realizing Thoreau's revelation, That man's brain did fly, Trembling with trepidation, "I have not lived so now I must come to die. Going to the godly woods, Abandoning all earthly goods, I failed to learn the facts of life, Abandoning myself to worldly strife." Let us learn from this man, With so noble, yet naive a plan, To flee this realm haunted Into the woods where his horror flaunted. The lesson that nature no longer our mother be, That only through ourselves are we ever truly free.