The Path (319 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 2 on 4 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Ancius (View user info) at 2005-01-28 12:15:56 EST
It stretches out behind him for years. Fragmented, broken, diluted by time. The greatest and the worst, the pinnacles and troughs. And he wonders...
What would he have done differently?
Would he have given up the ideas of his dreams if he had known they would lead to nothing? Would he have even said yes to that girl if he had known what would happen?
So many choices made, so many paths not taken. Would he feel differently now if he had walked along another road?
And yet, the answer is no for the main part. There are sparkling gems in that path that leads behind him, moments of great joy, of great revelation, of great fear of the unknown that develop into great columns of experience. All of them would maybe have been missed, would, perhaps, not be there if he had not made the smaller and less important mistakes that seem to wane in the light of the events that tower over them.
He thinks about the things he will be able to teach his children, the telltale signs of wrongdoing or inexperience that can lead the innocent into great danger and destruction. He can see those signs know, knows to watch for them in others. Even knows a few of the right things to say to steer them off that path.
He has stories from the path, funny and tragic that he can tell again and again. Shared and single experiences that will stay fresh forever, or until the ravages of the times yet to come dictate that he should forget them.
He has memories of sights so beautiful to behold that even now they can take the very breath from his lungs.
Would he have done it differently? Would it have made any difference? What would have had to have been sacrificed? The replacement of a tower of wondrous innocence crumbled away by a cancerous river of temptation and debauchery, itself being purified as it moves further down the path, becoming, for the most part, a deep and still water that pools only occasionally into darkness. Would all of this have to have made may for small, squat buildings of learning and maturity?
Those beautiful parks, bathed in hot sun and laughter, in the wheels of a car and the music of a close friend, the haze of complete abandon replaced by the stifling heat of rooms and the droning of a faceless entity that cannot be remembered at all except in shades of muted grey.
He watches the change as the path gets closer to him. Only occasionally punctuated by anything of any interest, the miles merging into each other and the landscape becoming that of a flat plateau.
Yet the grass is still green, only occasionally patched by small pockets of mire and pitfalls. The wind still blows strong and warm. And the golden pinnacles of the dream can still be seen in the distance.
And he still does not travel alone. His companions are further spread now, as is always the case. Each one carving his own road as he moves, some wavering, all intersecting here and there. One ending abruptly very close. But they all look to him and smile as they notice him, and wave him on.
And he looks ahead, into the mists that the path will always wander into, just that far ahead that he can almost touch them, and in there he sees the sparkling lights that great and wondrous towers are made of, and the dark shadows that can so easily be pits so difficult to scramble out of, and bogs that can mire the feet for far too long.
He looks down at his hands. They do not seem to damaged from crawling out of dark holes and scrabbling at the ground as he has fallen, and he looks to the blades of his shoulder, where occasionally great wings have sprouted to carry him far above the darkness. His legs are still strong, his head still up.
And ahead of him the path stretches on for years.
User Reviews
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-01-29 14:46:50 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
And another +2 just so you feel a little more love from Uber...
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-01-29 14:46:30 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
This was a really cool metaphor. You stuck with it and it was consistent all the way through. Really quite beautiful, actually.
Best thing I've read today.
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2005-01-29 04:31:38 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
This is amazing.
How sad that other worthless posts get more hits.
Submitted by drfeggphd (user info) at 2005-01-28 12:40:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
wonderful