I never promised to go where you led
With the blind belief of a burdened beast,
My feet following any path you made.
We are not a fated twining, our threads
Spun and woven to oneness, west and east
Meeting and weaving seamless in a braid.
You, unfit to bridle wildness to tread
Steady and smooth enough to press its feet
Into unbroken ground; ask me to wait,
And I will, forever, and leave unsaid
My resistance to following your lead
Down any road, no matter how well-paved.
I never promised to go where you led;
I will find you, love, my own way, instead.
Susan Daniels Poetry 
Brilliantly rendered portait of tender tension.
Thanks, David. Not sure how tender the tension is, but there definitely is tension 😉
Susan, This is the same promise I make. I like it here. ” I will find you”. Alice
Thanks, Alice! Glad to know I have found a fellow free spirit 😉
🙂
i was always in awe of how ruth followed naomi and made her way her own way… i’m not an easy follower as well.. i try hard though cause i know it’s important…but..ha…need much grace…a fine sonnet susan
Oh, yes, Claudia… I NEED to learn to be more willing to follow. Don’t I?
very nice, Susan. your path is grounded and clear. for me, you bring up the question of loyalty. really enjoying chewing this one over n over.
Jane, thanking you so much. Yes–I would rather find my own way to someone than blindly follow where they go.
***has to edit this as I had my medical expander on. Eeks.
I like the ideas of following and resisting to follow ~ The ending couplet speaks much of humility and hope ~
Thank you, Grace. I am glad you see hope there.
That seems a good recipe for a lasting relationship.
Nicely woven
Thank you, Aprille.
nice….really like that last couplet….it brings it together nicely…i will find you…i will just do it my own way….there is an interesting tension that happens between leading and following…
Oh, there is, and I refuse to be led. My poor guy.
Love the braid to bridle and it flows so effortlessly.
Laurie, thank you. You should have seen me tearing my hair out 😉
smiles… I did the same.
I love this! Especially that you took an older, well-known story and put a new twist on it, worked it into the form beautifully and did a good job with this whole assignment – brava!
http://leapinelephants.blogspot.ca/2013/02/beneath-mirrored-surface.html
Oh, gosh, thank you.
A strong poem here, Susan. I like the kind of relationship where neither person is really leading, neither person is in control, but both are finding that paths come together often along the ‘trail.’
Thanks, Mary. I agree. Better to find each other than lead, or follow.
This is my favorite of the night thus far but I am biased as I love the story of Ruth and Naomi so your title grabbed me instantly. The lines read very smoothly to me in my head and aloud. Beautiful Susan!
Aw, Gretchen, thank you! I love that story, too.
As I’ve gotten older, my resistance to following someone blindly has become a wild woman. Cannot do it…and I don’t think we’re supposed to do anything “blindly”. I like the powerful voice in this.
Rose, thank you!
Really enjoyed how the last stanza contained the line from the first — tying it together and emphasize the message. Expected subservience is well rebelled.
Thanks, Sabio. That is the story of my life…well=-rebelled 🙂
I have been having the utmost pleasure reading sonnets tonight, and this, so far, is one of my favourites. Taking the well-known story and taking it into a different direction by insinuating a new character voice into the mix – wonderful! And that final couplet, a succinct statement of love under one’s own terms, is nothing less than brilliant.
Sam, good Lord, I am every shade of red. Means so much that you said that.
And isn’t it so much warding when you are found and not just followed? Sounds much more like real love. The last stanza is so good 😉
Bjorn, thank you, and I agree. Much better to be found than followed.
Again, you make writing a sonnet seem so easy, but I can see that it was well thought out and crafted, it’s fiting into the 14 lines perfectly…an A+ if I were grading poems 😉
Katy, thank you. I am not much for writing forms, but when I do, I really enjoy the results.
Spun and woven to oneness, west and east – Really wonderful words and beautifully written, I love this
Alan, thank you so very much!
Loved the unsure thread – then the positive, well done Sus.
Jen, thanks. I don’t do forms often, but I liked this prompt from Sam.
Cleverly worked out and worked through. A most enjoyable poem.
David, thank very much!
I wish I’d written this 🙂
I am humbled that you’d say this, Tony.
Love the words and sentiment…
Thanks, Nelle. Never was much of a follower 😉
…the intention in your couplet to pursue & not just mere wait is very admirable & truly noble to note Susan… i’m not entirely familiar with the story but i enjoyed this a lot… i’m very satisfied with your thought execution here… excellent… smiles…
Kelvin, thank you. I enjoyed writing this.
You left me in a perfect spot where I am unsure whether it is a person or the virtue of love that you will not blindly follow. I like that it can work both ways, letting my mind and heart wander in either direction as I re-read it several times. This is quality.
Goodness, Eusebia, thank you!
Gorgeous trireme sonnet, a new take on the traditional love theme, and your final couplet is superb. There’s an extraneous apostrophe in stanza 4.
Thanks, Viv.