Mid-Life Passage
A Poem in Three Parts…
Part 1 - Awareness
Something has come to an end.
I thought it was all in my head,
but it just popped up again,
this time in my racing heart.
Because I’m a hunter and a fixer
I started searching dark places,
knowing there I’d find something broken.
But when I tripped and hurt my knee,
I sat alone in that darkness wondering,
Do I dare ask for help?
Part 2 - Reflection
Since I can remember I’ve been counting the days.
Seasons come and go and come again.
From the space in-between,
I’ve witnessed birth and death.
(What is it in this ending that frightens me?
Maybe I’ve been calling it by the wrong name.)
I look in the mirror only to see my favorite fighter
absorb a nasty left hook.
But not again, baby!
I hoist my white flag.
Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.
My phone rings.
Hello?
Still no answer.
No nothing –
just a stop sign in the desert.
Part 3 - Return
I lay awake all night while the wind whispers,
Bring it home.
Bring it home.
It’s morning again and I realize I’ve marched
well beyond the edge of the map.
My fortune cookie reads:
Not a step further.
No more lucky numbers.
At last, I can turn around and begin my journey home!
Every step from here to eternity is a new beginning.
“In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost.”
This poem was written on June 17, 2023.
©Brian Mueller - All rights reserved.
