Crossroads

He told me one day

After a long journey home

A story of life

Of how he had almost won

The eyes lit up

He was young again

A man of few words

Enlightened in a beautiful score

Of peaks and valleys

He told his tale

A man who had been there and back

Had lived in the belly of the whale

Jonah encompassed

Which way was north?

He had no clue

Only one pair of shoes

He had been in a schoolyard

Had scoffed at the notion

That women would at one time

Rule his emotion

It had been so simple

Just a paper and pen

Recess at noon

And a mom to pick him up after school

It wasn’t until a mistake was made

That life became a little more serious

And a lot less sane

In a good way; though

He came into his own

A well-rounded man

Never a bore

Never fully satisfied

Always thinking too hard

Nitpicking himself

When he didn’t meet the bar

Like a fine tailored suit

A long process to become

Comfortable in your own skin

And never be in a slum

Just as soon as it happened

College was there

Another change of scenery

Another round of cares

His father had told him

Nose to the grind stone, son

It’s better to think of a diving board

Because you’re still so young

He hadn’t felt that way

Four years of fun

He felt old and ready

To figure it out

Sail away under the sun

Society dictated

What it thought he had needed

What it thought needed to happen

When he made it through

An honored combatant

People followed the norm

All around him he saw

People catching something

Just to fit into a crowd

A whole life ahead

He thought to himself

But why is everyone

So eager to play house?

Is it the lighting of the floors?

The thought of more

The thought of opportunity

Can frighten people into a bore

It was this he saw, the man had said

That caused him to look ahead

Passed the material blend

To something that mattered to him

There in was the question

The thought of matter

What was this life?

A secret ingredient to the batter

A cross roads had been reached

But, the man wasn’t content

There was more to the gleam

More to a life

Mostly unseen

Was it a crown he wanted?

Or a white picket fence?

Or a chance to learn more

To delay the deafening roar

Of a world unknown

Of a comfort unfelt

Like a sweater that itches

Like a mist felt

Written up

Cycled down

Left for dead

Talked abound

What would the tree grow?

A rose of red or yellow

Would life turn out?

To be so mellow

Was it the blond with the smile?

Or the brunette with the brain?

That made all these choices

Seem even more insane

Had he come to a cross roads?

Or a dead end

Time to make new friends

And settle amends

I tell you, he said

The books still writing

The only thing I know

The horizon is quite daunting

As in any person will say

Its never just a settled thunder

It is often lighting

That leads to a plunder

Do not listen to yourself

Do not assume you know all

You’ll wake up one day

And realize you were never on the ball

“Are you even there?

After all this time”

I asked the man

Feeling even more blind

A tear streamed down

Leaving him strummed

With a thought lingering

A burning yearn

If you never tell yourself

You wouldn’t have done things different

Then you might be content

Like a mouse in a kitchen

Living off scraps

With others permission

But you’ll sit up at night

Thinking back

To a day of risk

To a day where you didn’t always round the same track

Live it as such

That’s what I say

Then the tears will come

Cause a risk taken

Is always easier to wash away