The Road Not Taken

The frozen woods have eyes which follow my rambling thoughts deep into old dreams silently down canyon walls drift snow flakes frosting solemn pines
in the night covering over footsteps of someone who has gone on before
whom I’ll never know in darkness long ago
snowfields as far as I can see refuse
to unlock the secrets of this place
to me if only she were here
to read their thoughts
and tell them to me
how many times
I have been
here before
with cousins
and other family
members over the many years
now only memories which serve me not
the stars come out and twinkle in the frigid air
as I trudge on homeward in as straight a line as
the trees will allow wondering why I never took the vow
the Sangha once offered me in a mountain fastness not unlike this
one on the other side of the earth long ago at the beginning of time
or so it seemed to my young and restless mind which made me move along