There I stand at the
threshold of a pair of castle doors.
Despite their wooden
appearance, they are strong,
Nearly as thick as the wall itself.
They are impenetrable.Nearly as thick as the wall itself.
Once one steps in,
That person cannot return.
What lies behind those doors?
In an instant, the answer comes to my mind:
A dark mysterious passageway
Full of tests and trials
And, to my apprehension,
A great test,
A more than probable encounter with evil,
Perhaps even the devil himself
Lies behind those doors
Somewhere in the passageway.
Fear seizes me,
The fear of failure, a lack of success,
To be the conquered, instead of the conqueror.
Are there any other choices, I wonder?
Again, an answer comes to mind.
Yes, there are soldiers coming,
Coming to take those left behind,
Those who chose not to pass those doors.
Where will they take me if I do not pass?
Back somewhere, to a place in the distance,
A place where I may stay just as I am,
A place of no forward, no backward,
No progress, no change…no hope.
These are my choices.
My time in this place is running out.
I must decide.
The soldiers are beginning to collect.
Do I want to be the same forever?
I can only move on behind those doors.
They await my answer.
So with a deep breath, I make my choice,
And as the doors open in invitation,
I step through.
Commentary:
It's interesting how influential a dream can be. This particular poem was an actual dream I had. The description of the doors, the anxiety of dealing with a difficult decision, it was all a part of that dream. It seems appropriate to me that this dream was located at a castle entrance since I never grew out of fairy tales. I remember waking up from this dream and I mulled over it for days, and when I wrote this poem there was some passing of time since I had the actual dream, but the images and feelings weren't forgotten. I had thought about it that much. It seemed to me that I needed to write it down before those details were forgotten.The doors seemed to be the main focus of this dream, for they were the one source that would let me step forward or hold me back. It was both a symbol of invitation and a symbol of warning. To be faced with the possibility of moving on, but in exchange facing great difficulties. or to stay where I was, comfortable and easy, but also "stuck in a rut" forever was a daunting decision. I'm relieved of the decision I'd made just as I was waking up, but then I'll never know what my journey ended up being. Oh, the suspense!
I love this poem, because it speaks to everyone in so many different ways. Some people have read it in religious terms, others have read it in personal improvement terms. I'm happy either way if it inspires someone to be a better person.
