ON THE ROAD OF LIFE

By Londis Carpenter © 2005

I was walking on the road of life one day

And I heard a voice—here’s what it had to say:

“There’s a marriage that needs mending,

A young wife that still needs tending—

Think of the cost before you walk away.”

I thought of how my life has gone till now,

Words spoken in a simple wedding vow.

Of things I didn’t say

When she first began to stray,

Wondered if it’s too late to say them now.

Sometimes a man must taste some awful pain,

The kind of hurt that drives a mind insane.

It seems with some heartbreak

There’s no medicine to take

You just turn to drink, trying to numb the pain

I should have asked her why she went to find

Another love while I still gave her mine.

What was I doing wrong?

To make her feel she had to roam?

What could I do to get her back this time?

I poured the whiskey in the bottle down the drain.

Turned back toward home to try and face my shame.

Before I could state my plea

Or try to make another “we,”

Another fool had given her his name.

I was walking on the road of life today

And I heard a voice, here’s what it had to say:

“I just wanted you to find

Better than you left behind.

Knowing there’s no guilt at all you need to pay.”