24 Sep 1985, Posted by Scott An Chora in Poetry, No Comments.

Poem 064 I have followed the river

I have followed the river, it extends and leads to the paradox of man and his will
For I am free only to choose from the available options that nature presents, presents along its banks
I do not control the outcome of my own choices nor are these outcomes aligned with my intentions
but rather controlled by an environment I am not equipped to understand
You could come to believe most anything, in an endless pursuit of the answers, who am I to say
but I have come to know that at the root of every single strain of my being, lies fear
because the most fundamental questions to my existence have no answers and I fear what I do not know
The Biblical conflict of Adam summarizes, he being told that all doors remain open but one
curiosity would eventually grow towards such an obstacle
our nature is at conflict.

We must know the truth and we must avoid error and we cannot escape this reality
before us extends an endless choice between directions,
and if we are to grow and to survive, we are to choose
for if I stand at the crossroads and remain skeptical, waiting for more light before I decide between directions
I would be allowing my doubt to be cast between the light and myself
to remain, hiding in the darkness between, “neither hot nor cold”
“such a man would not gain what a trusting man would earn”
and this choosing between truth and error
we create apart from nature.