the low road

 

over and over

I’ve heard them say,

“take the high road”

take it and you won’t regret it

 

but I wonder,

if that’s all I ever walk along,

how will I ever meet those you told us to help

how will I ever know the burdens they carry

 

was the high road where you met those you helped

those you shared the News with

those for whom your kind of love was a very new and precious thing

and it made them laugh with a buoyant joy like never before?

 

or was it the low road

down yonder by the creek

where folks gathered day after day

lost and lonely even in the crowds,

hearts hurting from choices made

hearts that saw no second chances

hearts weary and without hope

 

I’ve walked down there myself

though I’d rather folks not know that

I’ve tumbled headfirst into that creek

and found myself lost

on this journey

and when I looked around

I saw my own reflection in the eyes

of those also there

 

we have felt the pain

carried the shame

and lived to walk again

 

and I wonder if

it’s not so much about the road

we’re on, I think,

but maybe

it’s more about whom we love

and how we love

as we are walking it

and what we do after

that matters the most