PERSEVERANCE

i have wandered like a lost sheep in the wilderness
i have stumbled through dark forests
i have been stuck in deep ruts
i have missed the mark
i have lost form
i have swallowed the bitter pill of defeat
i have lain awake in bed at night thumping the wall in frustration
i have dreaded showing my face and still turned up
i have sat there alone in the dark
i have fought off sleep
i have sat up through the small hours and watched the new day dawn
i have worked for 48 hours at a stretch
i have crawled out of the wreckage
i have dragged myself from my deathbed and walked
i have learnt from others
i have read many books
trial and error have been my tools
i have tried and failed and tried again
i have bounced back
i have discovered that nothing worth doing is accomplished easily
i have learnt that the journey is the only arrival
i have walked the extra mile
when it would have been easier to lie down by the side of the road
i have learnt that less is usually more
that more is usually less
that the beauty is in the detail
i have learnt to see god where before i saw everyday mundanity
i have learnt to listen and speak
instead of merely hearing and talking
i have spotted the chink of light at the end of the long tunnel
i have kept the ability to laugh at the world
and i have kept the fireseed burning when they tried to stub me out