Roses For My Travels - A Poem

I've mentioned before that I used to write a lot of poetry when I was younger.  I can attribute this to my 9th grade English teacher, Mrs Leitner.  It was then that I learned the works of Shakespeare and became inspired to do some soul searching and bring my feelings of my past and my present (at that time) to the surface.

This is a poem I wrote when I was about 14 or 15.

Roses For My Travels

The story of my life 

Torn between worlds 

Having what you may want 

And wanting what you may have 

The less I understand 

The more I want to learn 

About life and new beginnings 

The way life should feel 

For a young adult, as I am 

Problems from changes 

And changes from problems 

It all leads to happiness 

Somewhere down the road 

Though my silence is getting too loud 

My heart is aching 

From time less spent 

Thinking about how I want to walk slowly 

Down this road of life 

And enjoy every moment 

And look around at all the scenery 

I have let pass me by 

"Life is too short," everyone says, 

"Enjoy it while it's still here" 

"Happiness is the key to success"

Live life and be happy 

Nothing is set in stone 

For life is unpredictable, just as it has always been 

Just as it always will be 

Learning to "stop and smell the roses" 

Comes harder for some people 

I would just like to stop and pick a rose, 

Carry it with me through time 

Through the winding roads of life's travels 

And stop a few miles down the road and pick another rose 

And another...as a memory; a keepsake

For all the moments in my life 

Where I was happy and content 

And by the time my roads have ended 

And my travels and explorations are over, 

I will be left with a beautiful bouquet of roses 

And never will they die 

They will just come with me into the light of day 

To a new world; Heaven 

So I could look down upon others 

And admire their beautiful bouquets of roses, 

Handed to themselves by their own success... 

Their happiness.

This poem was my way of healing through my parent's divorce.  I hated feeling torn between the two of my parents.  I was beginning to learn that some people just aren't meant to stay together even when kids are involved.  I began to understand that life is an incredible journey and you have to make the most of the moment you're in and do whatever you have to do to be happy.