I’ve never been a man who wandered…

Or lost my focus and lazily sauntered…

My paths may have been twisted and broken…

They often lead me to places best left unspoken…

As I walked between spaces both light and dark…

The man that I am tried to leave his mark…

More often than not the sand washed away…

All my efforts for naught just cast astray…

Each stumble and fall left me battered and bruised…

My failures trumpeted, my successes misused…

Sometimes in circles that I may have directed…

I found fault in myself that I too slowly corrected…

Lessons learned usually come with the greatest pain…

A tattered frock worn showing every stain…

Leaving behind a youth casually wasted…

A broken old man regretting a life never tasted…

Yet amongst the ashes is the smallest ember…

Warming the heart of all things remembered…

Purpose comes from the strangest places…

A simple smile from loved one’s faces…

It’s why your path is never straight…

Each twist and turn determines your fate…

Without uncertainty, you might miss the prize…

In a life straight and narrow as the crow flies…