By Gypsie-Ami Offenbacher-Ferris

This road I have traveled
upon these many years
The twists and turns
sudden starts and unintended stops

Have taken me through
wondrous jungles resplendent
with cawing parrots and
cackling long-toothed monkeys

Up mountains so incredibly high
to breath the air would freeze
unprotected vulnerable lungs
Glistening snow covered peaks

Standing on the deck of a ship
riding storm tossed waves up
to one hundred feet high
causing most passengers to weep

Then gliding into a paradise
full of tall coconut palms
coffee plantations with white
men’s mansions dotting the hills

Back to a home devoid of love
lacking affection and care
Reaching for that paradisiacal
arena dreamed of as a young girl

Now the road stretches before me
much shorter than ever before
Blind curves and an uncertain end
Does Paradise hide around the bend