The Life Altering Question

Many people have asked me,

"If you could do it all over, what would you change?"

And throughout my days

Where I have found different ways

Of expressing how I came to a conclusion

On such an interesting question,

My answer has never wavered.

And my answer is and always was "nothing."

While their first reaction is to urge me to reconsider,

I do not quiver under their condescending gazes

And myriad of phrases that simply boil down to

"Why?”

Because despite the lows that would make moles afraid of heights;

Despite the darkness that would tempt the boogieman to turn on the lights;

Despite the struggles and strife that I've had no success in suppressing,

Throughout the great and the depressing,

It's led me here.

And as I sift through my cluttered memories,

I cringe at my thoughts tattered and tinged with the notion of quitting.

Because if it wasn't for those moments near defeat,

I would have never known the honor of brushing myself off,

Of defying every doubt that clouded my judgment

And having the confidence to promise myself clear skies ahead.

I would never have known that the road less traveled,

While gilded in doubt, is paved with promise.

And like a lost safari guide who has found the path but lost his map,

I at least know I'm going somewhere.

Wherever "somewhere" is I'm not certain

But I can only hope that the curtain call of my life

May yield a standing ovation.

This constant pressure to make impressions will not make me fold.

Perhaps it may simply mold me into a person

That sees the footprints marking my legacy

As I step through the uncertainty that is the future

And wave back to say "it's all clear!"

I cherish my past mistakes that others would rectify if they had the choice

Because without error, one cannot hope to improve.

I pass over these grooves and cracks on my life with a steady hand,

Knowing that without every blemish on the surface of my past,

My self would be that much more flawed.

Failure has clawed its way across my life

But I have shaken it off and awakened the light

That promises better days to come.