dined with companions,
who could not care less.
went along for the ride with half a heart,
i confess -
sung a word of praise, or two -
for it’s like a game of chess;
chose my words carefully,
not trying too hard to impress.

i could not keep their company for long -
would not keep lying still - it was wrong;
gave up their lives, in a moment of truth -
raked my soul, all winterlong.  

kissed goodbye to the daylight, i -
gave it up for a different kind of nightlife;
believed - solitude was an inmate,
with a hidden jackknife;
turns out - solitary confinement
is but an oxymoron of life.

Everyone has an opinion, my son.
And their words will push and shove you
To the left and to the right,
Towards earth and towards heaven.

Should others be your root which holds you to reality,
You will have an anchor which sways with the tides,
A bridge timbered upon clouds,
And a house founded upon shifting sands.

Thus to pursue what is True and Good,
You must trust your own eyes.
For though they will lie from time to time
Another’s eyes cannot fit within your sockets