By writing "A Soldier's Time", I also opened the floodgates to other poetry I discovered I needed to write. Poems which described my churning emotions of shame and guilt during my years of early transition. These poems helped me illuminate the doorway of transition and to a new life, an opportunity to see life from two perspectives, one a reflection of the other. Just as the reflections of the tree are present on the waters of Walden’s Pond, so is the reflection and presence of my first life lived as a father and husband seen in Sarah’s eyes. These poems let me put into words all the emotional angst and fears that I faced as I approached my transition. Each poem followed the joys and successes as I climbed each step of accomplishments to become Sarah as I walked her path.

Transition is like finding a road that diverges from one heading to another. You are never quite sure how to start or what to take. You don't know what you will leave behind or discover beyond the bend or over the hill. Either way you go you don't really know if you have chosen well.

Roads to Take

I wait to see

which road I should take

always going forward

over the next hill

never to return

I wait to see

is the road to the left

going with the expected

to the right leaves me guessing

I don’t know what’s right

I wait to see

what life can do for me

should I take the bull

by the nose

or by the horn

I wait to see

what can I live without

my wife or children

my life as I know it

to walk the well worn path

I wait to see

whose love I need

from my wife

or from my children,

I think best to have from both

I wait to see

if perhaps any other road

could fill my life as full

of pleasures for me

or to those beyond

I wait to see

that perhaps my life’s road

with all the pain and glory;

the best road to take

is the road I’m on

November 29.2001