Don’t judge me,
by where I never went;
if I failed to rise above,
the mediocrity of others,
why shouldn’t I too,
be grouped, then, with them.
For like everyone else,
I rode the train in the darkness,
captivated by still lights fleeting past,
and the hope of a magical destination.
When it stopped at times,
I chose to continue the ride, until,
one day, a stop looked inviting;
a solitary light illuminating,
forgotten words over a station door.
Yes, I stepped off,
from the safety of my coach.
Then, the train moved away;
there I stood in the cold,
realizing all too quickly,
my baggage was gone,
and so too my comfortable seat,
from where I sat and pondered.

So, here I stand all alone,
underneath that dim light;
and I slowly realize,
maybe I’m accountable,
for what everyone else didn’t do,
and not by what I alone did do.
Lives lived out in the end;
an empty shell spent;
slowly becoming one with the dust,
spread across the ground beneath my feet;
just another dry husk,
waiting to be blown away,
in the endless wind that sweeps,
across the lonely platform,
where my feet now stand.
Now, I can’t help but wonder,
if maybe I should have stayed,
for just a while longer,
on that train to parts unknown.