Trapped within the narrows
between yesterday
and tomorrow
I ponder the next step.
The path before me,
reminiscent of Frost’s,
offers choices with
its directions.
Yesterday’s sadness sends
fingers to intertwine
with mine, to pull me
into the known path of destruction.
Tomorrow’s hopeful entity
entices with open arms
yet her road, only briefly visible,
disappears around the bend.
There is comfort in the familiar;
the painful past rests
like the family’s old, battered armchair,
ugly, but difficult to discard.
The fear of facing an unknown destination
brings hesitation to the fore:
the sinking stomach, the clenched teeth,
the runaway beating heart.
Baby steps, nearly unnoticed in their
minute movements, give way to
the uneasy gait of the elder,
slow, uncertain, faltering.
I know once the bend is reached,
once I face forward with true determination,
I will dance ahead, race ahead,
closing the door on yesterday.
Today, trapped in the narrows, I ponder,
indulging in the indecision
that fulfills my human prophecy,
while yearning for the resolve of the divine.
