I travel life's highway
with acute awareness.
Happiness and Joy accompany me.
Mountain top experiences
add special dimensions
in the form of perfect roses--
sweetly perfumed -exhibiting
exquisite, velvet petals.
A small child gives hugs
and kisses freely.
A long awaited telephone call
brings good news or
a letter expressing love
and concern arrives.
But--
Thorns grow profusely there---
alongside the roses.
Hateful words--
failure to forgive--
clinging to bitterness and turning one's back
allows the gap to widen
instead of building bridges
of understanding.

Thorns prick and cause pain.
I determine to torch them
so the roses can thrive.