The Story of Five, Nay, Six, Brothers

There were five, nay, I think six, brothers.

One of them took to the seas

One of them entered the rainforests

One of them ventured into the deserts

One of them to the snow-capped mountains

One of them took to the skies

And one of them stayed back in the nameless land that birthed them.

The one who took to the sea touched the deepest place underwater

The one who entered the rainforest discovered countless new creatures

The one who charted the deserts found the edge of the world

The one who ascended the snow-capped mountains climbed the tallest mountain

The one who flew up the skies found countless galaxies

The one who stayed back learned of the seas, rainforests, deserts,

the snow-capped mountains, and the skies.

The one who took to the sea became a mariner

The one who entered the rainforests became a forester

The one who ventured into deserts became a nomad

The one who climbed the snow-capped mountains became a mountaineer

The one who took to the skies an astronaut

The one who stayed back a chronicler,

seeing, reading, asking and writing.

The mariner fished

The forester felled

The nomad built oases

The mountaineer quarried

The astronaut built rockets

The chronicler documented.

They amassed immense fortunes.

The mariner measured in fathoms

The forester in tonnes

The nomad in acres

The mountaineer in meters

The astronaut in light years

The chronicler in spaces, weights, and time. 

The more they delved the distant they became.

The mariner knew not the lay of the land

The forester knew not the vast grassy plains

The nomad knew not the smell of the forests

The mountaineer knew not the sound of the seas

The astronaut knew not the intricacies of life

The chronicler knew nothing but the properties of them all.

They explored till the end of their time.

The mariner sank to the bottom of the sea

The forester built himself the tallest pyre

The nomad dug for himself the deepest grave

The mountaineer froze himself in ice

The astronaut detached himself from his spaceship

The chronicler closed the book, wishing someone would open it in another age, 

and learn of the five brothers.