The Toll

The future awaits behind that door,

I need only step through,

Yet my feet don’t move.

I glance back at the road that came before.

Even now I feel the pain,

Like an echo on still water.

Is that why my heart aches so?

That road was my road,

The twists and turns carved lines in my face.

I broke my body and crawled my way back,

I lost and I loved and I learned,

But most of all I dreamed.

I became a father and welcomed new life,

While saying goodbye to others who left,

But most of all I lived.

I built friendships and travelled the world,

I danced and I told stories,

And learned who I was.

When did I reach the end?

I’ve seen that door coming a long way off,

Why did I not run to it?

The future awaits behind that door,

I need only step through,

Yet my feet don’t move.

I chased a dream only to realize,

It was the lesson, not the dream,

That belonged to me.

My hands shake with the effort of holding on.

Grimy with dirt and tears.

And here at the end, my feet must move.

The future awaits behind that door,

But first, the road demands a toll.

I have to let go.