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The Mentor : Family Poetry

written by Poet : jeffbresee


 THE MENTOR

 I paused to stand and watch a man who had come to the road's divide.

My wonder soared as I watched his stare slowly shift from side to side.

He stood as if not noticing that many passed him by.

They moved without a second glance down the road most traveled by.

 

Then as I watched he stepped full stride toward the path of lesser wear,

And soon he vanished from my view round a bend into the snare.

I soon, like him, stood center road, faced with that daunting choice.

My gaze down his road, causing fear, I quenched my inner voice.

 

For miles I walked the crowded road breathing dust from others feet,

Til in despair I stopped and stood, my heart and soul deplete.

I gazed about still holding hope, the other path I'd see.

On yonder hill I saw him there, the man who mentored me.

 

The path between us steep and rough, un-forged with dangers there,

Yet still I left my path of friends, ignoring their bewares.

I pressed through hardship, pain and fear o'er rocks jagged and bent.

In time I crashed limp on that path, my every resource spent.

 

But then a warming touch I felt, a friendly voice I heard.

It said, get up and tread this path.  I rose without a word.

And as I looked, I saw him there, he continued on his way.

His only words as he walked on…"you're on the path, now stay".

 

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I chose in err.

But looking back, perhaps as well…all memories now seem fair.

Much time I spent on the beaten path, and what I learned, immense.

But I reached, at last, the other path, and it has still made all of the difference.

               …Jeff Bresee, Inspired by Robert Frost

Originally Posted On Site: 2008-02-05 17:14:05
Last Login: 03.02.10


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