REDEMPTION ROAD

REDEMPTION ROAD

The path to salvation is like the equator around the world

A vast circumference that seems to almost have no ending

Not a tropic that offers a more modest distance to traverse

Even though anguish felt along the way can still be a curse

And with awareness of ocean depths, as one is descending

Relief is ever slow to show its face, like a flag tightly furled

A road to redemption can be long and challenging for all

One may meet other pilgrims and penitents along the way

But sins begin to cut the soles of bare feet, mile after mile

Yet a prospect of finding peace at last will make one smile

It takes time and determination to tread each painful day

Forgiveness is not be dispensed from some ATM on a wall

It’s not some Galician camino one might walk as a tourist

Nor any big white church and a photo to remember it by

Making such a journey is not any sort of recreational trip

With alternate darkness and light, like it’s a Moebius strip

No need for any form of incantation or lamentable sigh

Nor any joke or wry smile from some sort of humourist

For some, the path can feel like a rough and stony track

But for me, it’s a journey with no time to pause en route

This will never be resolved with a mere verbal confession

It’s the time for humility, and no instances of aggression

Perhaps in my case, there’s been too many to compute

I just hope it isn’t necessary to turn around and go back