The Unmarked Trail

I shed expectations like autumn leaves,
Each “should” and “must” falling away
Until I stand bare before my truth.

They pointed to well-worn paths,
Paved with others’ dreams,
But my feet yearned for untamed earth.

My compass needle trembles,
Not toward magnetic north
But to the pull of my wild heart.

Some called it rebellion
When I turned left at their right,
But rebellion implies caring what they think.

I’ve learned to trust
The quiet whisper beneath my ribs,
More faithful than any map they drew.

Each step off their chartered course
Brings me closer to myself —
A destination unknown but wholly mine.

Let them shake their heads
At my wandering ways.
Their confusion is not my burden to bear.

For in this vast wilderness of choice,
I’d rather be lost in my own direction
Than found on someone else’s road.

Here, in the spaces between their certainties,
I carve my path with footsteps brave and true,
Dancing to rhythms only I can hear.

And when the sun sets on this journey,
I’ll rest knowing every twist and turn
Was authentically, unapologetically mine.