The Wandering Man's Curse

By Madison Boykin

Posted on June 1, 2025

Cover Image Title: Adventures

Cover Image by: Meghan Zhang

Classification: Digital Artwork

Specifications: Resized from 3700 pixels x 3000 pixels

Year: 2025

Location of Creation: Ottawa, Canada

A snowy fortress awaits me. 

I climb through earth and icy block, 

Dim by day, light by night, 

The vicious beast of solitude. 

A murky terrain awaits me.

I lurch through swampland and twisty vines

Growls and hisses - Beware!

The viscous beast of multitude.

While both thorns of nature, 

One wishes for a single sound,

One wishes for times of silence, 

But both understand

The wandering man’s curse. 

Description: 

A short poem that delves into the pessimistic side of adventure, creating a narrative in the process. In the narrative, I imagined various perspectives in different environments of adventurers, who all longed to explore but found nothing but misery. The tone I chose to capture the misery is cautious and looming, resulting in the reader to witness the pessimistic side of adventure. 

[ Writing Editor: Kimberly Nguyen. ]