Along the many paths I walked in my life,
brisk breezes bellowed forcefully many times.
Constant strain made the steps, at times, come slowly.
Determined but tough to stay the narrow trail,
every effort was employed to persist with great resolve.
                                       *  ---------------- *
Frighteningly, days came when I strode on a darker patch
God, however, knew my purpose and provided calm
hastening in the warm sun and provided lulls in the storms of life,
instead of dread, fear, and strife, I relished Love, Grace, and Peace.
Joyful footsteps fell stride upon stride, taking me to His Promised Land.
                                       *  ---------------  *
Kingmakers, Earls, Knights, and Peasants, have stridden these paths
lugging gold, tilling the land, striking swords, shepherding sheep.
Men and women, children, and elders with shoulders on the boulder
nudging a life onward - striving ever upward to claim their Oneness.
Obedient each one, following the golden rules etched in stone.
 
Pitfalls penetrate such intended goals – with man’s Free Will in tow.
Quicksilver may not be as toxic as man’s tongue, greed, or hate.
Riddled with potholes, man’s trek contains self-created minefields.
Set to maim the soul’s resolve to stay the course - to seek out God.
Tested is humankind by gluttony, greed, lust, sloth, envy, pride, or wrath, 
                                         * ------------------ *
Unwaveringly, I travel onward filled with awe as I journey along
vales, verdant, and wrapped in purple hues of spring flowers flourishing.
Waving and tousled by the gentle wisps of warmed winds,
xeric floral tapestries with traces of yellowish tinting clinging to ornate petals.
Yielding a smile upon my face and unbounded love within my heart

Zealously I plod ahead – with such anticipation re-entering the Garden of Eden.