Go!

Set sail!

My image, Zanzibar 2014
Do you feel stuck? What happens when you wake up one morning and the voice that has been silenced for so long is shouting in your head?

Life is journey but we often find ourselves on the wrong path. The choice to stay on the path that fate seems to have decided for us, or to take our destinies into our own hands, is one of the hardest tasks we will ever undertake.

I wrote this poem thinking of my own life and the moments when the steps towards change were taken. Some came at a great cost to myself and others. In my heart, are so many of my friends who are caught in their own flux. Some are hesitating on the edge of that leap of faith, others have jumped and are striding ahead, dealing with the
complexity that hard change brings with it.

What does it take, to make that decision to go back to the paths not taken, to find the courage to live an authentic life? The price is different for each us. I don't know what the price would be for you. I do know that life is fragile. We dare not expect to be given years and years in which to change.

Change is hard but it is possible. If the voice that is calling you is strong, listen. It may be time to start practicing the taking of that terrifyingly beautiful first step.

Go!
Do you remember when the door shut?
Was yours the hand that pushed it closed?
Yours the fingers that drove the bolt home?

Now, for years you have walked –
Carrying the door on your back
Straight-spined turned to iron.

You watch: Wives, husbands, lovers, children,
Dressed in your dreams,
Walking away into the day that is no longer yours.

What would it take to make you turn?

There – it’s out – the possibility of turning,
You knew all along the key could be found,
You knew all along the lock could be oiled.

What will it take to make you turn?

There – it’s open – all the paths are still there,
A restless sea still washes the shore,
In the infinite sky of your soul, the North star shines.

One Step-

To cross the chasm at the door:
Writhing with two-headed snakes
Eyes a glow of glittering Janus coins
Fork-tongued as ever they whisper:
Look back, you won’t go
It’s too far
It’s too hard
You’ll fall...

One step –
One long, free, stride.
Practice now on the living room floor,
Then, when no one’s looking –

...Go!

Ruth Everson

Comments

  1. Unknown9 June 2015 at 07:19

    You are right Ruth, change IS hard but possible, and people DO change !

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown15 June 2015 at 09:09

    Sometimes we have to look back to see where we've been and what we've done, in order to go forward and never go there again.

    ReplyDelete
  3. professional-essay-writing.com15 December 2015 at 05:04

    I think that everything depends on a person. There are some kinds of people who love changes and cannot live without them. However, there are some people who hate to change anything and would rather live in routine.

    ReplyDelete

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