Crossroads

I stand at the crossroads Of a choice that tempts both halves of my soul The one on the left is sunny The gravel is smooth and the light bounces off gleaming grass The edges blossom in vivid colors And the sky is bluer than I had ever seen before. And at the end, she stands, alone She’s waiting, beckoning me to join her Like the gold at the end of the rainbow Only there appeared to be no rain… Her, and her hazel eyes and her beautiful smile I see her clear as day, waiting for me I feel my heart rush and my legs scream for me to run to her The sun touches my skin like a golden kiss And my eyes succumb to the beauty of it all… Her arms outstretched and behind her is the world The world is heralding love and eternal joy It calls out to me to walk this path It offers me a single gift… to be in the arms of my one true love And live life in eternal utopian light. But I chose to walk the other path… A turbulent earth, where rain dampens the ground And makes the gravel a slippery trap, Shrouded in the black clouds and thorny shrubs. This path is a dark one, one that has changed me A life where days last twice as many hours And the edge of the game lies in the numbers With every passing day, I grow more mechanical Like a bird of prey, descending upon weaker hunt And living in constant fear of being hunted myself. But every now and then I sit at the old oak table And stare out the windows of my home. Out there, far away I still see her She is still happy, her eyes are still as beautiful Her smile is still as kind She is not alone anymore, she is in the arms of another I see her arms draped around his neck, Her touch as soft as a feather, Her breath, a fog of whispers. They walk away, hand in hand But she looks back at me a final time, One last smile of joy, A painful reminder of what could have been. She inspires me as well I return back and allow the ink to dance on paper. This is what helps me remember To feel the deep sting of pain and loss To yearn for the sun when all I have is rain To feel emotion so deeply that it helps me live Live vicariously through the characters of a life loved and lost Forever in the chasms of a distant world.