The Search and The Duty

 

 I wandered long through shadowed halls of thought,

In search of something undefined and deep,

A whispered promise that my heart had caught,
A secret that the waking world would keep.
Through seasons turning, under sun and rain,
I followed echoes of a distant call,
And felt the subtle, persistent refrain
That seemed to beckon just beyond the wall.

At last, I found it—what I sought was there,
A clarity that settled in my soul,
An answer to my unspoken prayer,
A vision that could finally make me whole.
But in that moment of discovery,
A truth emerged, both stark and bittersweet:
The timeline of this newfound clarity
Was not my own, my present to complete.

It shimmered in a future not yet born,
A path that crossed not with my current way,
A different dawn, a separate, distant morn,
That asked of me a different kind of day.
So with a sigh, I turned from what I'd found,
And felt the weight of duty close at hand,
A more immediate, pressing ground
That here and now demanded I should stand.

For there are tasks that cannot be deferred,
Responsibilities that shape the now,
A present course that must not be obscured
By future dreams or an uncertain vow.
I'll carry on with what I must attend,
The daily work, the necessary chore,
And trust that time may yet allow to mend
The gap between what is and what's in store.

And in the quiet moments, I will pray
For happiness to find its gentle way,
To grace the path I walk from day to day,
And bless the duties that I now obey.
Perhaps it waits in some unfolding grace,
A subtle shift of time and destined place.
But for this hour, I'll meet the present's face,
And hold the search within a calm embrace. 

 -The Brightest Shining Star