Nobody’s life is a straight course —
they all have their crashes,
public and private,
they all have their changes,
complete uprooting
of what they thought was true

The various chasms
may not be seen
on the paper veneer
of a life’s facade,
but we can understand
they are there

Nobody’s life is a story,
however much we’re trained
to think they are —
our lives are more like trees,
branches broken, other ones grown in,
taking every path that puts forth green.

©Wendy Mulhern
June 3, 2019