Along the Trails of Life

All the troubles I went through,

the bumps and collisions I faced,

the occasional, the unintended,

also, those I myself caused

by my own will.

All friendship I made and enjoyed,

that made lighter the burden of life,

all smiles, well remembered good times.

Also, there were those whom once I thought friends,

and, in bitter, crucial and doubtful hour,

who dodged and joined enemies,

unfortunately, always on duty.

Love I gallantly declared,

and have been reciprocated,

passions I am proud of, which lit up my face,

body, soul and my entire being.

Likewise, there were affections

and desires of mine, left unrequited

or unwelcome, perhaps misunderstood.

For those, I leave no grudge or hurt,

susceptible they can be due to how extreme

our human diversity is.

As Tolstoy writes in Anna Karenina, “if there are

as many heads as there are ways of thinking,

there are as many types of love as there are hearts”.

I have been going through and over this labyrinth,

and, today, I reach maturity in body and soul.

I leave behind affections and disaffections,

chants and disenchantments, all of this watered

by laughter and crying, sweat and tears.

Published in West Ward Quarterly, summer 2024 printed issue

Published in Fevers of the Mind, July 14 2024

Published in Lothlorien Poetry Journal, Jan 24, 2025

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