The End of a Dream; Another Awakening
Thanks for the seed, u/jarofgoodness. Here’s my go:
I woke each day to borrowed time,
and fed my hours to the mill.
They weighed my worth in little lines
and found me wanting still.
I learned the roads that others chose,
the ladder, rung by rung,
but somewhere past the life I knew
a quieter song was sung.
So when an old man spoke of gold
beyond the beaten way,
I followed water, stone, and wood
and let the dream hold sway.
And later, past the map’s last edge,
where stranger stories grew,
I chased another thread of hope
through shadow, star, and blue.
Not riches. No, I wanted less:
a morning wholly mine.
One door the world had overlooked.
One break through endless pine.
One place where no one measured me,
or asked what I had done.
One little patch beyond the rain
where I could feel the sun.
But rainbows move when chased too long,
and maps at last must end.
The river keeps its secret still,
the road forever bends.
I sought no kingdom in the hills,
no crown, no grand design.
I only wanted one true dream…
For now, back to the grind.