Destiny
5-22-07

Destinies, the “meant to be”s, can sometimes be so hard
So many things are meant to be, and yet they never are.
A tragic end to lovers’ lives, a friendship torn away,
Who knows if these were fate or if they just turned out that way?
Fate is what we can’t avoid, tyranny over our lives—
But destiny is potential, what we could be if we tried.
The crossroads that we reach will show the patterns we can stitch
But only one’s the right way to go and you can’t always know which.
Whatever choice you choose to make, be sure you won’t regret
You can always move on, but you never can forget.
See this world around you? This world you hold so dear?
It’s full of pain and suffering, it’s full of hate and fear.
What is it that we cling to? What do we want so much?
What keeps us locked up in these chains that never let us trust?
Let go! Let go! Just open up your hands!
Release the world so you can join in the immortal dance!
Do not fear the breakdown, don’t fear letting go.
Don’t fear you have to say goodbye—you’ll never be alone.
You can’t quite see it, from where you are,
Because you’re standing out so far,
But this is not the end you see.
This is the brink of eternity.
Let go of this world, long as you hold on you’re enslaved,
Stop acting like this is all there is, like your tomb’s already engraved.
Destiny is all we could hope to be, dreams both near and far,
Still so many things are meant to be, and yet they never are.
Will you choose to chase your destiny? She’s not the fickle mistress of Fate,
She won’t come and force upon you some future you might hate.
You have to choose to follow her, every day from dawn to dusk,
And never looking back, chase your dreams long as you must.
But remember, whatever choice you make, be sure you won’t regret
For you can always move on, but you never can forget.

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A long time ago I contemplated a sequel to a story I never even really finished called The One Way Home. That whole idea was bust except one line, that the heroine of the original story told the heroine of the sequel (who was her granddaughter): "Whatever you choose to do, be sure you won't regret... for you can always move on, but you never can forget." That line, and one from The One Way Home itself ("Many things are meant to be, and yet never are"), were the inspiration for this poem. Wait, wait, that and also a lecture Clyde Cavasol gives Alexander in Anathema Story's sequel (currently untitled) about the difference between fate and destiny.

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