The Road
by Paul Purdayhttps://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PaulPurdayPaintings?ref=seller-platform-mcnav
The road was dark and winding
A rutted stony way
Tight bends and mystery showing
Where fleeting shadows stray.
There seemed to be no ending
To this uncertain road
Until there was a junction
Two different pathways showed.
One track was dark and lonely
The other seeming bright
I took that brighter pathway
Attracted to the sight.
My journey soon discovered
This was a cul-de-sac
Reversing my direction
I took the other track.
The route was dark and narrow
But Someone took my hand
And led me to an archway
Where beauty would expand.
For all around was wonder
Life-giving plants would bud
But on the green was falling
A path with drops of blood.
A path beyond the garden
Of sadness it must be
Until I was confronted
With an unusual Tree.
Shaped like a Cross of sorrow
But it was empty now
And all around was glory
That rainbow tears endow.
How can I live without Him?
Or follow other ways?
How can I be diverted?
With my self-centred gaze?
In Him one life was ended
In Him the new begun
In Him delights expanding
When all our days are run.
This poem was a finalist in the
August 2024 poetry contest
