Long Road

I learned that the richness of life is found in adventure... It develops self-reliance and independence.
Life then teems with excitement. There is stagnation only in security.

~William Orville Douglas

Heart beats,
Dry lips.
The road never seems to end.
The hours crawl by
With a hypnotic eerie slowness.
Tap my fingers
And wonder, worry and wander
In and out of random snatches of thought.
Leaving home, leaving friends, leaving the security
Of years accumulated in a little room
In a little town.

Finished paperwork, gone through red tape,
Packed my bags, went to bed.
Didn’t sleep at all.
Ready to leave, wanting to change,
Worried about it all.
So far from home.
Did I make the right decision?
Did I choose the right school?
Am I doing the best I can do?

Heart beats, Dry lips.
Tap my fingers on the wheel.
Leaving home,
But home is with me.
Leaving family
But they will never leave me.
Leaving security,
But finding strength
And confidence, and dreams
Within me.

Heart beats, Dry lips.
Tap my fingers on the wheel.
Take a breath.
And a smile starts on my lips.

Finding dreams, finding love
In what I create, in what I do.
And forever,
Growing, growing, growing.

And I am no longer afraid
Of what lies ahead.

~Clara Nguyen