One sunlit spring day I discovered a path
Of green and wood and dapple
It offered two ways, to the right and the left
Just one, though, was even and supple
One chosen and trodden for many a-year
The choice of the crowd every time
One rough-hewn, debris strewn with mosses and leaves
Ignored for its steep uphill climb
No questions or fears concerned me that fine day
The answer was clear in my mind
And the slight breeze and rustling leaves seemed to say
The unfavored path would be kind
Without a look back up this new path I walked
For following isn’t my calling
The trailblazer’s life is always my choice
Both with its advances and falling
I know in my soul if I go with the crowd
And put my ideas on the shelf
The sense of belonging might help me feel good
But lost would be my sense of self
So with my own thoughts and my dreams and my hopes
Companions that I always choose
I climbed up the hill and found on this new way
Vast skies and courage and infinite views
It’s hard to quite tell what each new step will bring
Each moment holds mysteries and clues
But the wings of my spirit took flight that fine day
and with that and my heart I can’t lose
Sometimes I still think of the comfort of groups
But wondrous things I have found
For finding and taking the possible path
brings light and a lifetime profound.
Judith Ellen Sanders
Judith Ellen Sanders is a writer and painter with a master’s degree in science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Her poetry has been published in the New York Times, For Women Who Roar, and Tiny Seed Literary Journal, among others.