VALLEY OF THE SHADOW
I have taken a journey a passage of trnsition
Through the Valley of the Shadow of death to a new destination
A wanderer full of woe
Looking for a place I did not know
I went for a walk through ice and fire
The cold and heat so severe my situations became dire
I knew no other way to find the truth deep inside
To lose false conceptions, a falsehood of pride
I only knew that inside me something was not quite right
That the wrong I found in the world first in myself I must fight
A journey I am on still
To find a new truth that has no hate, no reason to kill
For all the wrong in the world that I did see
When I looked in the mirror I saw too inside of me
I journeyed from a dark, dark land in my soul
For it was a place from which my heart told me I had to go
To reach a destiny in which to shine
I had to let go of all what others told me was fine
But the route I had to take was dark and full of the promise of death
Escaping influences that stole my every breath
Over these many years on a train that took its own time
For I had to be made ready for new meaning that would truly be mine
A passage from a land of hate and bigotry
To find peace, love and forgiveness in myself you see
For how could I help others
When the image I saw in the mirror
Was a sick soul full of the experience of many horrors
I found myself to be my own worst enemy
My mind which oten betrayed me
Fleeing from myself I did find
No where to run to, no where to hide
I met many dark souls on my passage
But it was the darkness in myself that carried the most potent message
Any extreme is not good for myself and others
That true evil begins when we start to condemn our sisters and brothers
When we lose the light of understanding and compassion
Then we have lost our most precious possession
A clouded mind and a dark heart are a warning that danger lies ahead on this path
This road leads to ruin and death
We must free our hearts and minds from fear and condemnation
I am slowly making in myself this new proclamation
One step at a time through the Valley of the Shadow
One step at a time for the ways of death to let go
A dangerous path for this life I certainly did chose
But when I was young somehow I knew
That in the world around me filled with anguish and pain
That just by my very birth on Earth
I had, somehow, added to it nearly drove me insane
I refused to crush the low3est percent
I refused the ways given by others to me
My own way to find, my own face to see
For a destiny of peace to find
First had to begin in my own heart and my own mind
The journey istn't over yet
There is still much in myself that I do regret
For when I look in the mirror in my face still I do see
Traces of a cringing coward looking back at me
No fear can continue if I am to find
That WILL to truly live free with peace of mind
I booked a passage on the night train through the Valley of the Shadow
I did not want to but my heart said I had to now go
Even though on this passage I may yet be killed or die
At least I know I did my best when I chose to no longer live a lie.