I
Start at a dead-end
But force a path through
A path that should already exist
Severe accident, never the same
Daily accidents as a result
But continue on, pretending
That all is fine, all is normal
II
Your path is lonely, alienating
People know you’re there
They can smell you a mile away
Some are mean and tell you
The rest keep their distance
III
Create a bypass
To avoid the unsafe path
But neglect maintenance
Become an unsightly cancer
But continue on, pretending
IV
If you can’t rely on yourself
You rely on no one, nothing
Everything crumbles
You’re questioning everything
Pushing everyone away
V
Remove the bypass
Resume on the flawed path
Which remains unchanged
Nothing is said about that
But continue on, pretending
VI
You can’t love someone else
If you don’t love yourself
You can’t trust someone else
If you don’t trust yourself
You can’t live with someone else
If you can’t live with yourself
VII
Years of travel smoothed the flawed path
By some miracle of life
Still some accidents, still too many
But continue on, pretending
That all is fine, all is normal
August 25, 2021