@ the Perdana Botanical Garden, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, walkway approaching the Fantasy Planet playground. Photogaphy by SSJ, 2015

There are alleys
Like branches of a tree:
You grow some
Or you shed some.

Shadows can sometimes
Be heedless;
They grow on you
Or vanish
Under the many suns.

There are feelings
Of having lingered
Too long
And feelings of
Not knowing
Where to belong,
Or feelings of
Needing
Some more time
Or some more things
Or none of these.

We have the power
To add or subtract
To multiply
Or Divide;
We grasp the real
And the imaginary,
Yet we must move
And from end to end
We cannot see.

There are times
We pace slowly
Hovering
Around a corner.
We contemplate
The colors.
Sometimes
The mind grasps
And sometimes
The mind blames
The heart.

It is of the heart
Which knows the road
And steers the wheel
When the mind sleeps:
A low-beam here
And a high-beam on
The next fateful curve;
It is a niche
Which harbors fire.
And how we mold fire
Can lead us through
Veils of light or
Burning amber.

Walk your way
To your heart’s delight;
Nobody will be
Walking for you.
These path-walks are
Full of choices,
A puzzle laid out
As a book.
And he is doomed
Who cannot choose
The pages of
His storybook.

© SSJ, 1993 

@ the Perdana Botanical Garden (Lake Garden), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photography by  SSJ, 2015

Author’s Note:

The pathways of life will not always be some walk in the park.  And when you find yourself against the odds, you must keep walking the pathways until you reach your own fantasy planet.  🙂   (The linked videos of the Perdana Botanical Garden, here and here, have been shared by their respective creators on YouTube.com, and are better enjoyed when played on higher resolution settings.)  –  SSJ, 17 Feb 2017