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.
Copyright © Chavin Munasinghe | Year Posted 2021
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