torn between two choices

“Your choices are made in a moment, and yet their
consequences transcend a lifetime.”—M. J. DeMarco

choice leads me on:
     sorely am i divided.
          a hopeless pawn?
               a future predecided?
                    no parliament
                         convened, tho scant a hearing?
                              chance to repent,
                                   ere naked flames come searing?

                                   the evil eye
                              blindfolds the will of reason,
                         lest lust must die
                    before it reaps its season.
               the holy eye
          opens a way before me,
     to sanctify
my feet upon the journey.

one promises
     a plight of potent pleasure
          —paralysis
               in incremental measure!
                    one solemnly
                         declares love’s deep commitment:
                              a heart set free
                                   charts well its own denouement.

                                   shallow and wild,
                              the one’s preoccupation,
                         unreconciled
                    with ceaseless complication.
               the voice of calm
          attends the other option,
     psalter and psalm
the antidote of ruction.

i make my bed
     that i alone must lie on,
          while overhead
               the Gateway of Orion
                    prepares the wake
                         for those who crave the morning,
                              and flames the lake
                                   for those who beg the scorning.

© Copyright 2024 September 11
by Clyve A. Bowen♫