I followed a dream,
only for it to chase me,
causing me to surpass all the others
who would’ve served me better.

I pass doors that have closed,
the lives behind them locked away,
windows that have shuttered
like no one’s business anymore.

It is only through a stroke of
someone else’s bad luck,
that a second chance at happiness
presents itself like a gift,
left unwrapped for years.

Like a plush elephant or a toy train,
I see it not with the same eyes
as I would have all those years ago,
for it means less in some ways,
more in others;
and it is in that way that
it means everything.