Destiny’s Nemesis
by Odin Roark

How elusive this preordination,
this road only one can travel.

How precarious the voyage,
where side roads and paths
battle for one’s detour.

Yet that road less traveled
is programmed for you alone,
divested of a gambler’s fate,
assured verity at journey’s end.

Surviving the trek,
demands recognition of ill-conceived ambition,
awareness of inherent faults,
humbleness of strength,
avoidance of diversion’s quicksand,
and the trust of one’s inner compass.

Occasionally…

One meets along the way the innocent,
beleaguered by others' control,
traveling back to where they started,
sadly aware their heart remains
hostage to subjugation.

Perhaps a bit wiser,
but likely still enslaved,
by destiny’s nemesis, fate,
they may stumble onto their true road
the one only they can navigate.