no thru traffic

I never thought I’d find

where the sidewalk ends

it turns out it was just up the hill

I was always too afraid to climb

I took my first step

drenched in the sweet sweat of fear

before heading into the land

where the wild things are

they paved over this stretch of dirt

but we are still drawn to it

like that of the deepest addiction

coursing through the roadmap of our veins

what I thought was going to be the end

was merely the beginning

like a Phoenix reborn

from the fresh ash and ember of a recent wildfire

all who wander are not lost,

but all who are lost wander

before finding the hill

where the sidewalk ends