Give Us A New Frontier Poem by David Welch

There is no place where one can roam
where someone's feet have not yet trod,
no islands we have yet to see,
few new peaks that leave us awed,
no vast prairie to set down in,
few jungles that we've not explored,
and yet still in the human heart
is the urge to discover more.
What happens if it is not met
is nothing good, that I can tell,
you must give us a new frontier
before we destroy ourselves.

What of all the ‘crazy' loners,
who never really could fit in?
They once had places to flee too,
free of all the social sins,
places where they were left alone
to build a life in their own way,
now we just drug and medicate,
try and push them into the fray.
Then we wonder why they go and snap,
where our world is their living hell,
give the loners a new frontier
before they destroy themselves.

What of all the exploring types,
whose nature is always restless,
their minds not able to function
without always asking ‘what's next? '
One world just isn't big enough
to keep their energies contained,
and if they do not stay challenged
bad things happen within their brains.
The ‘frontiers of the mind' might do
to keep them for a short spell,
but if we don't have a real frontier
they will soon destroy themselves.

Something should be said of men,
and the hard truths inside our minds,
if we're not building, pushing hard,
there's no enjoyment in our lives.
Those great masculine powers that
built up our fine society
are not content with their laurels,
we must engage then, constantly.
Without frontier there's only war,
and we all know that don't end well,
turn men loose on a new frontier
before they destroy themselves.

What of our species as a whole,
on this small, blue rock in space,
a cosmic shooting gallery
which could so quickly life erase,
if we don't do it first ourselves,
though so far we've ducked that blow,
our fractious nature keeps it near,
so we will need some place to go,
to ensure our story keeps on,
that we never see our death knell,
open the gates on a new frontier
before we all destroy ourselves.

…You know what? Forget you. We'll do it ourselves.