MY JOURNEY 

No I cannot go,

Away from all of you,

How will I be on my own?

Oh please! Have me here, do not disown.

But Mom let go of my finger,

Dad refused to walk with me any further,

The road ahead was cold and scary,

It was dark and dreary.

It was all hazy,

I was going crazy,

Knowing not where to start,

I took the nearest path.

It was lonely,

So stony,

Full of thorns and nettles,

It was a painful battle.

I fell and got hurt,

Blood spurt,

I cried out to Him for help,

In pain I yelped.

All of a sudden a voice I did hear,

Felt at peace, the pains disappear,

Someone was speaking to me

And thus spoke He:

 “Not I, nor anyone else can travel that road for you/You must

travel it by yourself.

It is not far, it is within reach/Perhaps you have been on it since

you were born, and did not know.

Perhaps it is everywhere—on water and land.”

He smiled,

I too tried,

Threw away all fear,

Feeling a strength queer.

All pain I forgot,

My goal I sought,

Too a step ahead,

All hesitations shed.

Crossed rivers,

Tripped over boulders,

Turned where the road curved,

With it I swerved.

I fell many a times, still continued

Though failure too loomed,

To give up in a hurry was not worthy

Now, I was all ready for my journey.

©Madhumita

* Inspiration  and extract from Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass.