To Turn at the Crossroads

I come to a fork in the road through the wood,

And a choice must be made where to go.

Running right, left, and straight are the options. What good

Will evolve from the footprints I’ll grow?

Staying straight is perhaps the easiest way

For the moment, at least, but again,

Quite quickly, I’ll meet a new crossroads and may

Face greater uncertainty then.

The straight path leads toward what I thought I’d desire.

A distant white tower ahead

Beckons onward, but pitfalls exist and inspire

A turn to a second thread.

On the right, climbing fast to a tall, airy peak,

I would soon leave the woodland behind.

The view extends far, and the voices that speak

May reach many with new thoughts aligned.

It’s a path I knew not, when starting my course,

But revealed, it presents some exciting

And broad possibilities, close to my source,

Though a soft voice inside me is fighting.

I finally look to the left, which slopes down

To a faraway plain where the trees

Grow thick, bearing fruit from a leafy green gown,

And the warm waters run with the breeze.

While I can’t see the future, there may be a chance

To return to the road I’ve been on

If it calls, but for now, this elongated glance

Just feels right. To the left I am drawn.

It’s unknown, but familiar – far away, yet near

To some places I’ve walked before.

And the longer I look, something seems to appear:

It’s my heart, my passion, my core.


This past week, I had to make a decision about my future. I had a few different options, and I decided to accept a job with Aquaya, a research institute focused on improving global water and sanitation. I'll be starting in September, when I'll move to Nairobi, Kenya to be the Senior Research and Program Manager at the institute's research office there. This poem is kind of an abstract look at this and other options I was considering, and the main reasons for my decision. Writing it certainly helped me think through the different possibilities, and I'm also really grateful to the people I talked to about this choice.