DESIRE PATHS: A GUEST POEM

Every once in a while I receive a hand-written card or message that’s been sent snail mail to the Archdiocese of LA/Angelus News.

One such note came recently, in the form of a poem, written in response to my recent Desire Lines post.

As you can see, the verse is quite beautiful, and I think captures my zeitgeist perfectly. The author gave his permission to share, so here it is, with deep thanks.

DESIRE PATHS
For Heather King

They wait for us in noisy cities,
nudging us along lanes and alleyways;
they dally in our brains,
uncharted channels,
shortcuts to fresh expression,
unblazed, less taken ways
that just might become
roads reaching to infinity.
Instinct instructs our feet and legs;
urging words to take a journey
toward some lucky page,
seeking, daring to be born
into ink and onto paper.
Unsculpted city sidewalks,
unsketched pavement paths
blazed by sudden motivation
and the joy of going further on.
Poems constructed by discovery
out of freedom, fresh air, prayers
and the novelty of spending moments
in unlikely places where metro trains
roll by clattering and whistling
on tracks that wander wide.
All conspiring without a plan,
unmapped siren channels
through a city at your feet.

–Bob Doud//12/03/2020