The Spoonbill Generator

There is often told a legend of a treasure [N]

Not El Dorado or Timbuktu [F]

A greater prize no man could measure [N]

And a quest that none could rue [F]

To seek it, you must quit your life of leisure [N]

Enduring travails no one ever knew [F]

Firstly you must look inside your heart [N]

Not heed the words of saints and seers [F]

Clear your mind of sin ere you depart [N]

And abandon all your fears [F]

This journey needs no compass, nor a chart [N]

Just your perseverance through long and winding years [F]

Now the hardest step is picking out a path [N]

In youth-- when judgment is unknown [F]

The fire burns strongly on the hearth [N]

And you step out, unshriven and alone [F]

With no-one there to lean on - just your staff [N]

For sustenance you recite a self-taught koan [F]

Your chi will guide your steps along the way [Beefy]

Your yin and yang are helpful friends [N]

Various dragons will you slay [F]

As the road to triumph wends [Beefy]

Towards that fateful, final day
When everything you know of ends [Anon.]