Sestina for the Open-Minded

[Editor's Note: "Sestina for the Open-Minded" is the winner of our NaBloPoMo sestina contest this week. Check back on Monday for a new contest and new poetry form. And please peruse the runner up sestinas at the bottom of this post. --Mel]

Something’s not right. She feels it, this woman.
At first it’s a whisper, “Live the life you’re meant to.” But that means risk.
At first there’s turmoil, but it’s a start, giving her permission to seek.
Eventually she notices them when they appear – the signs
Showing what might be her path.
And she knows they’re right.

When you realize you are bound by what’s expected, what is considered right,
Such as has happened with this woman,
You may end up on the wrong path
Because the right one might be shrouded in risk.
Stop. Listen. They will call to you, the signs.
They will tell you what you want is there if you choose to seek.

It sounds like an active verb – to seek,
And that only through deliberate action will you find what’s right.
That’s not necessarily so. Instead of flashing neon they might be subtle signs,
Which at first is true for the woman,
And she only notices them because she has begun to release her fear of risk.
So, like breadcrumbs, they show her what is possible on that path.

It’s possible, says the whisper, this path
You’ve chosen to seek.
There will always, it continues, be risk.
Be open, it encourages. Be confident. You are strong in your own right.
It becomes clear the whisper speaks truth to the woman,
And opportunities present themselves because she’s open to signs.

There has to be a balance when looking for signs.
Life is too complicated to assume there’s one true path.
She knows that, this woman.
Even though she’s chosen to seek
There are other people to consider. Others who have a right
To participate and support, but to also weigh in on the risk.

Luckily those others understand the risk,
Both of following and not following these signs.
So while for years she has felt as though she has a clear path,
The word that has come to her now is seek.
In the dawning of a new year the word chose the woman.

She is enduring turmoil and accepting risk in order to find the right path.
She sees the signs because the life she’s meant to live is what she chooses to seek.
I know it’s right, for I am that woman.

Robin Farr is a writer, a conference speaker, a communications pro & a mom to a toddler boy. Her motto is "Live the life you're meant to." She writes about motherhood, her struggle with PPD, & finding inspiration at http://farewellstranger.com.

Photo Credit: Path via Shutterstock.