A Thief on the Road — A poem of choice

Introduction

Our traveler has arrived at his waypoint, but he is not alone. There is a thief on the road. Now armed with his pen and muted reflection, the traveler must defend himself from this thief who looks to destroy beauty with selfishness.

A thief on the road

Here I am,
standing at a crossroads, a choice to be made.
Two paths before me. I stand and look down each.
Leaning as far as I can to behold anymore around the next bend;
trying to see even more of the beauty which lays beyond.

I am a thief,
hoping to steal a bit more without giving my all.
Tempting how far I can wander these roads
and still turn around without feeling the pain
of losing the beauty I only began to behold.
Will she also feel the pain if I choose the other way?

When I part from her,
I take the beauty gorged, for no one else to joy.
For my prize is her as she was in that moment
with the sun shining through the trees
and her beauty all that I could see.

My heart yearns for her.
My imagination soars with excitement,
dreaming of the journey lying down each way.
But in truth, would either way fulfill my heart’s desire for what I do not have?
What’s this thirst my heart, which no way subdues, no truth relieves, and no life could fulfill?
The one you seek is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Which way, then, should I go?
If I am to follow the want of my heart, and the passion that’s deep in my soul,
I must take the way of she who brings me near to He.
God, I pray that she permits this man, a faithful friend, to share her journey.