Some say four and some say seven
a perfect hell or almost heaven

we duke it out our fists are raised
we’re quick to damn and slow to praise

but i’ve never glimpsed the grading book
if you can sail by hook or crook

i’ll give her seven which says “let’s go!”
leave those screens that hold us so

our time on planet earth ain’t long
and every year some friends have gone.

let’s sail away our precious time
on scabs and slush and snowy grime

and now and then, we don’t know how
a magic wand descends somehow

we glide into a cosmic space
our senses sharpen, time slows it’s pace

we no longer care for grades and numbers
but thank our stars, forgive our blunders

and wonder how, as the runners hiss
that fleeting life should give us this!