Michael E. Harris Poet Free verse

THE PEPPERMAN AND A TRAIL LESS TRAVELED

I WAS ROAMING THE UNIVERSE 
IN SEARCH OF  ANCIENT WISDOM 
AND KNOWLEDGE WHEN I
HAPPENED UPON A PHENOMENALLY 
ATTRACTIVE OPEN GATEWAY.

OUTSIDE WAS A LARGE PLAQUE 
COVERED WITH SYMBOLS AS IF
CREATED OR EXSISTING LONG
BEFORE THE INVENTION
OF WRITING. 

THE PLAQUE APPEARS TO BE 
CRAFTED OF PETRIFIED WOOD
THE CHARACTORS HARDENED CLAY.
INTRIGUING TO SAY THE LEAST.
THIS PLAQUE WAS SET IN A WALL
OF STONES THAT APPEARS TO BE
ARRANGED BY HAND. 
STONES STRATEGICALLY 
PLACED ON TOP OF STONES.
WHO EVER CREATED THIS TOOK THEIR
TIME TO PLACE EACH STONE TO 
BALANCE PERFECTLY TO STAND THE
TEST OF TIME.

A  FIRESTORM OF CURIOSITY AND 
IMAGINATION  BEGAN TO EMERGE
FROM WITHIN AS I STUDIED THE
CHARACTORS.

THE FIRST SYMBOL OR CHARACTOR 
RESEMBLED A SMALL GROUP OF
CLOUDS, FOLLOWED BY A BACKWARD 
SHAPED "S" AND ARROWS POINTING 
TOP TO BOTTOM AND LEFT TO RIGHT
AND 2 CIRCLES THE SECOND 
HAD 8 LINES EXTENDING, 
SOME LONG SOME SHORT.

BEYOND THE GATE I COULD SEE A
TRAIL LESS TRAVELED ,
WITH BEAUTIFUL WILD FLOWERS
MINGLING WITH A VARIETY 
OF WILD GRASSES EXTENDING INTO
THE CLOUDS.

I HAD TO STOP MYSELF AND THINK
ABOUT GOING FORWARD.
WILD FLOWERS AND GRASSES HAVE
BEEN KNOWN TO EXSIST FOR MORE
THE FIFTEEN THOUSAND MILLENNIUM. 
LONG BEFORE ANY CIVILIZED 
LANGUAGES. LONG BEFORE THE
INVENTION OF WRITING.

SOMEONE CREATED THE PLAQUE.
SOMEONE BUILT THIS GATEWAY.
OBSERVING THIS MOMENT , I HAD
TO ASK MYSELF,  IS THIS A MONUMENT
OR GATEWAY. 

HAVING TRAVALED THE UNIVERSE, 
I OPENED MANY DOORS. 
THIS WAS NOT QUITE A DOOR .
IT NEED NOT BE OPENED.
WAS IT AN OPENING IN TIME OR
IN THE UNIVERSE?
WAS THIS A REFLECTION OF TIME 
OR A TIME TO REFLECT.

I HAD TO TAKE A SEAT AND THINK
ABOUT THIS VERY CAREFULLY...
THE ANCIENT PROVERB ,
THE GRASS IS ALWAYS GREENER
ON THE OTHER SIDE. 
FLASHED ACROSS MY THOUGHTS.
KNOWING THIS PROVERB FIRST
APPEARD IN ANCIENT ROMAN 
LITERATURE MORE THAN TWO
THOUSAND YEARS PRIOR TO MY
ARRIVAL,  MY ONLY CHOICE WAS TO
SMILE AND ADMIRE MY CHOICE.

UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING 
OF THE PROVERB HELPED ME
UNDERSTAND WHY THE TRAIL WAS
LESS TRAVELED.  

MICHAEL E.  HARRIS 
02122026

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