We Only Get One Shot
On the boy who fell in the woods and the man who can't quite see the sky the same way anymore.
Most of us had a moment as a kid where the sky cracked open and we understood something we couldn’t name yet. The work of being an adult is partly trying not to lose track of that moment, and partly forgiving yourself for the years you did.
I remember when I was a boy
And that day I fell in the woods
I laid there, on the soft grass, in joy
Because it was the first time I felt I could
The first time I felt a sense of wonder
Where rules need not apply
Because in dreams you discover
That you don’t have to say goodbye
You can be whoever you want to be
“One day I’ll be writing in Hollywood”
Admittedly, they did fade to some degree
I was no longer the boy that felt he could
I don’t gaze at the sky like I did that day
But sometimes I think maybe just maybe
If I lay back on that grass today
I’ll see what my young mind saw in me
Maybe I’ll allow my soul to implore
And remember to fail with bliss
Because I know one thing’s for sure
We only get one shot at this
Remember to fail with bliss — that’s the line I keep with me. The boy in the grass didn’t know there would be a him without it. The grown-up version is still trying to find the way back to that bliss without needing permission for it.
We only get one shot. The grass is still there.
— JTC