A Lone Path by the Sea

A Lone Path by the Sea
Yong Wan Choi 07.22.12

Walking barefoot along the sandy shore, I look back
I threaded winding alleys and noisy avenues
a road where crowds of friends came along singing
pride and pain, and still nothing to be ashamed of
it was my own road that no one could stop

walking in tears with the quiet sound of the waves
clearing the wounds left by empty bottles others dropped
even while regretting, chewing over death
a good friend who stayed with me to the end for no reason
the laughter we shared and the tears I swallowed alone
because it was my own road that no one would ever know

Someday when I come back and ask again
many things will already have faded from memory
but the one moment I cannot undo while I live
will ring quietly in my heart like the sound of waves

When a new day comes in on tomorrow morning's high tide
and my footprints slip away with the ebb
ah, even if I kneel and pray
my own lone path, gone by, can never be changed