Walking on a well-worn path With confidence I stride O’er the top of a pleasant hill The sky stretched far and wide Into a sun-drenched valley Filled with goldenrod and birches Where finches fly and sparrows cry And I find the path diverges To the East the path is clean and clear Overgrown, a path leads West Which one to take, I did not know Which path for me is best? Toss a coin and choose a side Pick a number, one to ten Toss the bones and cast the lots Change direction, start again A bright young man just happens by And seeing my distress Stops and looks me in the eye And tries to ease my stress. “May I help you sir? You seem so very lost.” To which I answered, “I am confused By the fork that I’ve just crossed. No sign to guide me on my way Afraid to choose that I might stray.” The young man paused, And then exclaimed “To the right lies favor, Fortune, fame. To the left lies darkness, distress, and doubt. The choice is yours, Just pick a route.” With that, The young man gave wink And turning right He headed East Still unsure And more confused I scratched my head And tried to choose. A woman stops With her cart and mule Eyeing me Like I’m a fool “What’s wrong, young man? You look quite frayed. Lost and tired You seem afraid!” “I’m quite confused By this choice to make Right or left Which one to take.” “If you take the right,” She quickly shared, “You will wind up Coming right back here. If you take the left And continue through You’ll probably end up Someplace new.” Saying that She gave a click Tagged her mule And left right quick. I watched her leave To parts unknown. She took the path That was overgrown. Still I paused To make a choice And listened to My inner voice East or West Would both be new But turning back Would not be true The spirit called From deep within And pushed me on To think again A breeze whispered In my ear A gentle voice Soft but clear I felt at peace My stress was gone The fear replaced By gentle song “The path you seek Is not East or West To choose which one Would not be best Nor is turning back The way you came For on that path There is no gain Before you now a new path springs A path that only I can bring A righteous path Not all can see The only path That sets you free And then and there My eyes did see A path led north Beyond the trees My heart at peace My mind at rest I had no doubt This path was best I headed north Without disdain And ne’er did I Look back again.
