Chin grazes the neck
Eyes scan the ground
Head tilts upward
A bridge before me is found.
There is a route in which I see
A route that seems engrained
Rules and expectations there are known
A defined future is arranged.
Go to school by the age of five
Learn the fundamentals of all things.
Become a decent human
Be involved and take the lead.
Color within the lines
Draw things that, to others, make sense
Become an athlete or an artist
Define who it is that you are.
Exceed in academia
Win medals on the field
Take home trophies for your performance
Be the best; succeed.
Finish what you start
Get that diploma, cross the stage
Now you are seventeen or eighteen
Decide the avenue in which you will take.
Go to school or get a job
A degree or apprenticeship.
Live those years until they are over
Climb to the top in your career
Get married and have kids.
Focus your time on worthwhile things
Do not deter from the part
Live within the lines
Accept that in your heart.
There is a route that seems engrained
Rules and expectations there are bold
What happens when those routes
Do not match the vision that we hold?
When the route that seems the norm
Does not quite fit the life that we live?
When the route that feels expected
Is not congruent with the desires of your heart?
I have walked routes like this before
I have stepped upon that bridge
I have walked toward those expectations
That have been placed upon the life that I live.
They say that this life is a journey
Can we detach from the expected scenes?
If this life is a journey
Are we free to take the lead?
The route that is upon
Can we define where it goes?
The route that is upon
Can we control its direction and flow?
Eyes fixate on the bridge
Head begins its downward tilt
Chin again grazes the neck
I see my feet; they are on the ground.
The route that was before
Is not the only option for my life
I take a breath in through my nose
Shift the direction of my feet
Then continue towards what, to me, feels right.
Melanie Jane
