Poem for Friday: A Decision

by Ellen Latham

Should I turn left or right?
And then left or right again,
Or have I just done a loop?
How should I know which way to go
When every path is lit by bright garish lights
That beg for your attention, like the bright
Signs of a cinema, beckoning you in.
But which will lead me to the best show?

How will I pick the right one?
The perfect one.
Will I even know if I do pick the perfect one?
They say the Devil you know is better than the one you don't,
But what if you know no Devil, but instead a chorus of angels
Each one as tempting as the last.
How do make a decision that could have such wonderful consequences
Or such terrible successes? 

Why must I take a risk?
A risk is a risk for a reason; the outcome is unknown.
But what does it mean to make a safe decision,
To sign away the rest of your life without the danger of change?
Without the hope that something bigger and better will
Come along and sweep you off your feet.
Without that shiver down your spine
Or gleam in your eye at the first smell of adventure.

Or am I just making this up?
Maybe the decision is jumping up and down, waving its arms
And screaming my name around the next corner and I am
Simply oblivious.
Or maybe it's not that simple.
And I will have to turn left and right.
Or right and left.