Walk Anyway

(a poem)

Every path is rocky;

Every journey is treacherous;

Every road is unsteady;

Every way is crowded;

Every walk is lonely;

Every passage is dangerous;

Every pilgrimage is difficult.  

Yet 

we walk anyway. 

One step at a time;

one fierce 

determined

step

after 

the one before

and prior to

the next. 

Our feet may be bloodied;

our knees battered and bruised;

our ego cracked and stained;

we walk anyway.  

We are not alone

for there are fellow travelers 

on their own 

arduous trek.

Our odysseys often

run parallel to one another;

at times they

intersect,

but theirs isn't yours 

nor yours theirs 

but we walk anyway 

simultaneously. 

Understanding the struggle 

is unique 

but not isolated. 

We walk anyway. 

It is what

we are meant to do. 

One step at a time;

one fierce 

determined

step

after

another

always 

moving forward

toward

God knows what. 

We walk anyway.