A Fork in the Road
Forks in the road come and go,
choices made on which path to take,
life decisions impacted by the choosing.
The pain from insults . . . from unwarranted blame,
heaped upon a fragile spirit,
leads to such a fork . . . but which path to take?
One leads to resentment – a slow burn building into rage –
the flames of wrath – all consuming –
burns the “f” from fire,
melts the “d” from danger,
leaving what is left to fuel the coming fury,
cutting a wide swath – out of control –
destruction left in its wake.
One leads to despondency – the avenue to depression –
turning everything inward, creating a shell of isolation,
interjecting “self-” with doubt,
rejecting hope by attaching “-less”,
the path spiraling down into unknown depths,
an abyss of no return.
But what of another path as yet unseen,
a path that needs to be cut so others can follow,
a difficult path, blazed with hard work,
a path where the pain is turned into purpose,
overcoming the inner-demons of uncertainty,
inspiring a future full of confirming assurance.
Pause at the fork and consider.
Contemplate . . . Envision . . . Choose.
The Good Side of Odd
They always seem odd, or out of place, like they are
a five-string guitar,
a few bricks shy a load,
a dog that won’t hunt,
an elevator not going all the way to the top,
a few cards short of a deck,
half a bubble off-center,
stuck in reverse.
A smile lights up their face, an unkind word never uttered –
their glass is always half-full;
they search for the silver lining in the darkest of clouds;
a perpetual spring is in each of their steps;
failure is not an option (they just found another way that does not work);
they believe the light at the end of the tunnel is just ahead;
if one door closes, there must be one open somewhere;
when lemons appear, they know lemonade is near.
See what I mean . . . odd.
Mike Hall is the author of two collections of poetry, Autumn’s Back Porch and Thinking Out Loud. His work is a call for us all to think of our place in this world and how we can be kinder and more respectful to each other. He and his wife, Cynthia, live in the Dallas, Texas, area.
Sparks of Calliope 