055 - February 24 2024 - The Way Backward

I do take seriously the notion that
the point of no return is always further
along the pathway than I probably thought,
but, that said, late turnings increase the labour
of reclaiming what’s lost, and thorned troubles branch
back where I trod, with my heart now made dour,
for when I strode down I was not an old man.

But I speak with conviction and with ardor
when I say I’ll come back to where I began
with my misfortunes earned transformed to favour;
even if it is my own coffin I drag
from the brambles into my purified grave.