Poetry Thursday

Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
by Portia Nelson

I.
I walk down the street.
There's a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost.....I am helpless;
it isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

II.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it.
I fall in again.
I can't believe I am in the same place;
but it isn't my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.

III.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in....it's a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

IV.
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

V.
I walk down a different street.

This Poetry Thursday poem really resonated with me. I feel like right now I'm living somewhere between stanzas IV and V. I'm not totally walking down a different street, but I feel like I'm standing in an intersection and contemplating. Do I walk down the legal street and just avoid the deep hole of a law firm or do I walk down a completely different street? I'm not exactly sure at this point, but I'm just happy to be out of my metaphysical hole.