Roads of Life
I’ve traveled down many roads in life
Some good, some bad, some that left me lost,
I have reaped the harvest of my maker
Sewn my seeds at sometimes-great cost.

I have met with over-powering obstacles
Presenting challenges for me to surpass
My willfulness to live my life to the fullest
Sometimes gave me a kick in the ass.

I have made many foolish mistakes
So many that I can no longer count
They served as lessons of life well learned
Steps toward problems I was forced to mount.

I’ve made enemies and friends aplenty
Some who loved, some filled with ire and hate
The ones who made the biggest impression on me
Were those who lovingly guided my fate.

Growing old reduces the numerous chances
Of making too many thoughtless mistakes
But the past ever returns to haunt me
With bitter memories like poisonous snakes.

I keep reminding myself that retrospect
Can’t change the direction of roads I took
Or erase the wrongs made in the moment
That felt right through the eyes I then looked.

I have learned that knowledge is not swift or insightful
It comes like a thief in the night at its own pace
Resembling a blind man clumsily feeling his way
On a rocky road where no one wins the race.

From early youth into adolescence and adulthood
Every experience presents a moral and ethical choice
A skill children need to be taught from an early age
Enabling reliance upon that conscientious inner voice.

I cannot fault the mistakes of my past
Which served as stepping-stones to a better life
Inspiring me to do better by stepping up to the challenge
Of overcoming inevitable strife.

I’ve learned mistakes can never be undone
It would be foolish to even try
But if used as a textbook toward mature growth
Worthwhile knowledge is gained until the day you die.


 

© 2007 Jeanette Cooper