Here Stood Anonymous...
I raced to the hand of beneficial friendships,
pledged myself to artful reasoning
and aspired to harness
freights of honor.
I took long drafts of audacity
and impetuously ingested
every molecule of opportunity
while the road was wealthy
and the track fertile with
smooth stepping stones
content to lend their backs to my feet.
I rushed ahead gaining paces
leaving nothing behind for those
who sipped by requirement
and paid debts charged to their soul after each act.
My progress celebrated
by acceptance into discerning,
noble circles
launching my ego
furlongs ahead of my accomplishments.
My chest boasting valor
and yet…the sums of my life
are still untaxed.
Midway I have discovered
that my hump of debts owed
are a disturbing weight
unsettling my axis;
becoming a separate, ethical life
opposing my kind of progress
crippling my spine,
challenging the arrears in my spirit
and I stalled,
unbalanced between conceit and humility.
I never requited favors
from those backs who made the race so easy
I merely stored promissory notes
for my blood, sweat and tears
(for which I never remitted a drop).
And as my conscience looks back
it can no longer see the beginning
and I cannot leave momentous marks
in places my feet never tread.
I can’t go back,
I have forever lived my life
painting blank steps
that I can’t retrace.
Lonesome, idle time is mine
while I wait for moments I raced past
to reach the end
of my anonymous path.
Copyright © Jean Marble | Year Posted 2007
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