The First

I decided to begin the Project with one I wrote a few months back. The theme fits well with the concept of the project. And now, the first poem:


The Edge

It has been a long walk
a dusty, dry and meandering walk
an often dark and lonely walk
a tiresome and directionless walk

I suddenly find a cliff before me
a high, jagged and windy cliff
there is no other side in sight
there is no bottom visible below

The edge lies clear before me
the path of my past behind
I cannot see anything around me
I fear that nothing is all there is

Could this journey be so empty
devoid of reason or purpose?
Why have I walked so far?
why have I endured so much?

Understanding comes to me finally
standing alone upon the brink
A profundity stirring and shaking me
Eyes are opened, both without and within

I do not need to see the bottom
for that is where I started
I do not need to see behind me
for that I have already passed

But what of the other side?
should not the path be there ahead?
a smile comes to long stern lips
as once more realization dawns

The far side is still unknown to us
the future cannot be studied from afar
the path does not yet exist
for the choices have not yet been made

The cliff is not the end of my road
the cliff is just a stopping place
to rest the mind and spirit
and prepare for the next step

Now I stand and step to the edge
boldly looking into the unknown
take a deep breath to steady nerves
and step boldly forward into.....