Locks and Dams

I arrived before sunrise, eager to see the first light. The plants and trees dripped with dew, and the air sounded like a philharmonic of bird chatter. With the day officially starting, sounds, smells, and vistas coursed life into all creatures urging everyone to join. Morning life surged higher as the many scavenging crows’ outwardly taunted us all with inspirational vigor and strength to start the day. But the crows were not the only creatures that would shine inspiration across the landscape this morning. Shortly, she would pass by this spot on her way, and I did not want to miss this momentous occasion. Her time has come.

Today, she is the Master, having graduated from the esteemed university with no books, where she became both a virtuoso and maestro of her world. Her education, exclusive and refined, could only be attained by the vulnerable, repressed, and disadvantaged. All others remained excluded by the haughty rules of social order.

As an apprentice, the earlier curriculums she attended filled her mind with fear and depressive thoughts. Later courses and post-graduate studies added hope and strength. Today as the Master, her mind owns a dramatically different definition of fear and endurance. Semesters with laboratory lessons groomed her wit, intellect, and vision. She became distant from her old friends, doubt and insecurity. Now she moves with grace and complete impartiality to the choices and decisions that often come alive from her thoughts alone.

And now, across the way, I see her standing in all her glory at her new trailhead. This trail, she knew, was unlike any other she had hiked. This trail was fresh and of a different terrain than past hikes. It did not matter that a light fog hugged the ground. It would burn off soon. Weather will consistently be an element of the journey. Agnostic to the weather, she casually turned to face the new path and the sunlit fog. Then without hesitation, the new Master began walking the trail. Her forward motion into the fog left delicate puffs of eddy curling mist that highlighted a light wake behind her gliding body as it faded out of sight. I will see her again, without a doubt. She can never again become lost.

To her, losing sight of the path would prove impossible. Her internal guidance is calibrated to the highest of precision by past emotions and struggles. The trail itself appeared warm and comfortable, supplying all her needs. Love and respect surrounded her with a magnetic ora of openness. Life seemed drawn to her natural charisma.

In stark contrast, she was not blind to the fields aside from the path. She knew the hardships of traveling off the trail. Gale winds sheared cold and icy across the landscape she knew all too well. Aside from the path, the frozen terrain lay littered to the horizon with undergraduates shackled to jolting fears and insecurities of the virtuous. For these apprentices, training had just begun with no mercy. Among the tundra, comfort appeared among the fledgling souls as they huddled in groups attempting to shield each other from the winds of righteousness. The Master knew she could only observe and not interfere with the underclass. They had to progress toward the end of their bondage being defined by another. ~jennwren