oases and horizons
i’ve walked through the Valley of Death
hoping my dreams would meet me halfway
or maybe be only a few steps short
i’d walk the extra mile or so to reach them
but the heat
or the depth of this earth
must have bamboozled my mind
because I thought I saw them
dancing on the horizon
but then again,
there was an oasis some ways back
that ended up being cracked ground
as thirsty as I to be nurtured
with only but a drop of something reinforcing
i thought everything was in line
the stars and planets
my efforts and sacrifices
but it was all a mirage
the product of a starving mind
running on the fumes of a tired heart
putrid energy
circulating
fueling a machine that still recalls what it was like to be human
naïve and full of hope
times have changed
and the world I knew has since evolved
accentuated by each season’s temper
each butterfly’s effect
something rippled,
who knows exactly when,
and prolonged the race
pushed the horizon a little bit farther
tempting those dreams to stop dancing
because where I stand
is beyond where they imagined we’d ever have to meet
farther than we’d ever agreed upon
but I’ll keep walking
from oasis to oasis
until I reach where land meets the sky
my dreams and I will be there to make the introduction
… i wrote this a while ago but I’m currently reading a book that sort of hit the topic right on its head …
“…our culture is not good about teaching journey, we only show result. That’s why most people don’t ever reach their dreams—they were never taught to build their foundation first.”
– Hill Harper