Jimmy Addison and his Motorcycle Epic

In his Oregon high school,
Jimmy was well liked
studied hard,
and ran like a leopard:
the kind of guy expected to go far

In the bourgeois American tradition
he went to college,
where he partied hardy
but studied harder...
until they gave him a practical degree
and an offer of gold-plated handcuffs

But did Jimmy take them?
No, not he.

He escaped the city
on a flaming yellow bike:
the continent of North America
ahead of him to see

He explored new lands
worked with his hands,
and met myriad souls
as he pursued his goals
through forest and desert landscapes,
dirt roads and free-ways,
great plains and great city-scapes

On his yellow steed
with a will to speed,
Jimmy voyaged on
"to find America" and Canada
and wildness,
and humanity

And so went
day after month
and month after year:
a motor-bike for a wife
a career to steer

So went 20,000 miles
two years,
two speeding tickets,
two front tires,
two chains,
and too many hotel rooms

Was it worth it
this fantastic but dangerous epic
to America's ends?
Yes,
since Jimmy counted
in friends, freedom, and bliss