Paul (from somewhere in Romans): For I do not do what I want, but do the very thing I hate.
If only
I were a better mother
a kinder daughter
a truer lover,
less a liar sighed into air
and forgotten; inclination
minus drive leans living
in directions I won’t take:
a lightly traveled path
glimpsed and abandoned.
Still, this imperfect
skirting of rubber
kissing asphalt–
my do balanced after
I am and I think
until the scales tip the equation
and I bite the apple.
I take the hand.
I welcome the kiss.
Choice is choice.
Susan Daniels Poetry 
Your honesty – rather, your willingness to be honest – makes your poetry very enjoyable. For me, anyway!
Helena, thank you. Best way to be, I think… Anyone who says they don’t lie is lying even as they say it 😉
true that…choice is choice and at least we have the choice…in a sermon i once heard the background of this verse…they used to tie a dead body to someone still alive and they couldn’t get rid of it but slowly died as well… i’m so glad we have the choice…
Oh, wow. What a way to live–or not live. So glad we have choice, too.
We all have some regrets, but its better to move ahead, nice poem:)
Oh, thank you. I agree. Thanks for commenting!
Susan I really like how you set the two stanzas in relations to each other…
if only….
choice is choice
Thank you, Bjorn. Just came to me after I compared the two words side by side.
hmm..a thoughtful tact taken with the theme of volition and velleite….a good reminder to ‘bite the apple’
Thank you, Katy!
choice is choice….great close on this…the first part i think sometimes about who we measure ourselves against to come to those conclusions and how that can def haunt us as well…enjoyed the turn int his one susan…
Brian, thank you! I agree, we hold ourselves to an extremely high standard.
good work, Susan!
Oh, thank you!
the debate with yourself is so recognisable in all of us …and so honest…love it.
Thank you, Geraldine.
and you deserve for that apple to be succulent and sweet.
Yummy! Thanks, Aprille.
Well, Geraldine beat me to the perfect comment :). I’ll sing in her chorus and add that the way you approached the prompt is, as always, awesome.
Anna, thank you! Really appreciate your comment.
Ah, really nice! Always a debate, to act or not. My favorite line: less a liar sighed into air. So sonorous, and even looks great on the page. Oh, and kissing asphalt tickled me!
Bless you for laying it out! The lighter road, but no inclination couldn’t hold your passion. Biting the apple demands the bravery of a vibrant life–not perfect but alive.
A great reminder of that we make our choices…and that sometimes we have to bite the apple to be able to move ahead. A strong voice in this one that makes it hard to ignore…thank you for this one! 🙂
“Kissing asphalt” – my favorite line : )
Thanks, Rowan! I love all those things suggested in there–kissing ass, fault…
This was such a difficult prompt, and you handled it so well. Bravo.
Oh, thank you, Viv! It was quite intriguing, what it brought out from all of us.
but I never said that – in Rome or anywhere else
Hahaha–wonderful comment, Paul.
A familiar tale, Susan. I, too, am very familiar with those particular words of Paul’s. But, thankfully, I am also familiar with another word often used in his writings; grace.
sorry ’bout that extra “t”! I saw it just as my finger touched the “post comment ” button! DOH!
🙂 loved your comment, Charles, and I too am thankful for that word “grace.”
very honest! choice is choice,, after all!
Thanks, Akila!
“choice is choice” … wow, those 3 words hit home. another wonderful offering, Susan
I like the way the two approaches lead to the same conclusion. And I like that conclusion!
Thanks, Rosemary.
Quite lyrical. You could write a score to this…
Oh, if only… Not one drop of a composer in my blood. Sigh. Thanks, though 😉
a lightly traveled path
glimpsed and abandoned.
These lines spoke to me. Lovely.
Thank you, Danny.