Joyful Ruins

There I was

walking along

shoulders hunched

head down

following orders

projecting a joy

determined by others

molded by expectations

and then I tripped

fell hard

jarred awake

awake to my reality

and to the pain

As I looked up

a door opened

off the beaten path

I could not see where it lead

but the fall

made it so

I could not ignore it

It was scary

yet inviting

and I was tired

of walking

the path of others

without question

without knowing

myself

So I crawled through that door

and the journey began