Where do we go from here,

Standing beneath the tines

Of the fork in life's road?

Do we take the road less traveled by,

and accept the hardships of being different?

Do we take the well-beaten path,

to the autumn of our life that we know is certain?

Or do we make our own route,

meandering in the wilderness

building upon the footsteps

of those who came before us?

Where do we go from here,

When our hearts are broken,

the strains of the siren song

whispers in the wind?

Do we love again my friends?

Or guard our hearts until the end?

Do we forgive in the light of betrayal,

Or hold a grudge, locking away

our hearts until they are pale?

Where do we go from here,

when hope eludes us?

When our thoughts are trapped in trials

Without light in the darkness of our minds?

Where do we go, friends?

We go where we may live

We live where we may love

We love where we cannot doubt

This poem was inspired by my conversations with people who have gone through immense tragedies in their lives, and what they chose to do in the face of undesirable circumstances. Some of the imagery is taken from a Robert Frost Poem Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood, and from the popular mythology of the Greeks. The final stanza has become a mantra for me whenever I am faced with difficulty, frustration or heartbreak.