I began a new journey today.
No, that’s actually not true.
Just when did I begin?
Perhaps when I was born,
or at any one of countless turning points
along the decades of my life.
Perhaps when a previous journey ended abruptly
before its planned last step was taken,
the disappointment strong,
but the reality demanding an embrace.
In the ensuing months and years,
I envisioned one day completing that pathway,
some way,
some time,
somehow,
but with the inevitable perils of aging,
the possibility grew ever dimmer.
Gradually acceptance came,
and with it
visions of a new journey,
a different one,
flittered and fluttered
through my mind.
An amorphous dream
came and went in my heart,
then wandered into my mind,
quietly starting to crystallize,
until I began to understand
what this new journey could be,
but it remained hidden,
simmering in the privacy of my heart
before it was ready to enter
the light of day.
One bright winter day I spoke,
and words brought a new imagining into the world,
and then today
the physical journey began,
with my feet on the trail in the woods,
and when I stopped to write this poem
the sharp cry of a hawk
lifted my gaze skyward
to watch a wild symbol of resilience
soar above the treetops
high over head,
back-and-forth,
back-and-forth
back-and-forth,
a sign I’ll not soon forget.

How long and how far
this journey will last
cannot with its first step be known.
Of one thing only can I be certain—
it will carry me
where it will.