Pathways

After Psalm 1

Four paths to follow, or choose,

places to be, to stand (note to self:

standing is more active than being)

first path: advice from the wicked

second path: the way of sinners

third path: the seat of mockers

(note to self: watch for mockingbirds

on social media)

fourth path: the law

this is a choice, or a description

this is a statement of being

   or decisions faced

to delight in the law

to meditate on the law

meditate on the law?

really?

write yes to the question,

   the questions

yes means life,

   a tree planted

   by streams of water

   flowing past

   trees bearing fruit

   when the time is come

   when no leaf dries and withers

no means death

   chaff blown away

   by the wind

   exiled from judgment

   torn from the righteous

   severed from life

the shepherd watches over his sheep

the answer is yes

or

the answer is no

the answer is one path

   not four

   not three

   not two

one

the path of delight

the path of meditation

the path of life

Photograph by Davide Foti via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Pathways

After I John 1:5-2:2

The two paths present a choice,

not a choice of high road

and low road, not the kind

of journey to the same place,

not a road taken or not taken,

but a choice more stark,

more obvious: a path of light

or a path of darkness.

We can’t choice darkness

believing our own light

is sufficient, for our own light

will be overcome (easily);

the darkness is too deep,

too thick, too overwhelming

to be overcome by our own light.

A different light is required, needed,

demanded to see clearly,

to understand deeply, to know

with certainty. The choice is

a double one: to choose the path

of light and to choose the light

ordained. The path is a single one:

not many paths, or even two,

but only one,

one to choose

and one to reject.

Photograph by Andrew Neel via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Paths

So many paths to follow,

so many possibilities and

how to choose she asked,

why should I choose, she

asked, I can accept them all

for no one can say

which one is true

which one is real

because they are all real

and true, because they all

lead to the same end, she said,

as she convinced herself

to try everything,

to do nothing.

Photograph by Petr Kratochvil via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.