Emphatically me

This road and I are one in the same

We have bumps and turns and twists

We have been developed over time, evolving with the times

We can see no end, for no end is there

One point begins, another point begins again

In the time since we have begun, the weather, wear and tear has etched its mark on us

We have seen many days and nights, blustery winds and harsh cold rains

But we carry this load of bumps and bruises like badges for the ages

For badges and for baggage, we are the traveller and the medium for the travel

We see no ending, we fear no passage of time

Worn and wiser, we can only get better

I see them, the travellers, they know not that they travel

Lost in the mind of the child, innocence is packed away like discarded luggage

The adult now knows the realities and truths of growing older

Long forgotten are the days of wishes and dreams and of what might be

I have long since agreed, the only thing I can be is me

All of me intact, from a sapling to an oak

I write the pages of my life in my book

Weathered and withered I will become

But I will remain, through all the blustery winds and rains

I will be the guide, the pathway for the young

I will be the 'used to be'

I will be the "is"

I will be, emphatically me

Forgotten for a moment, not a lifetime or two

I realize I am not only here for me but for you

Your time is near, you still dream of course

Some day you will take this path and know your life's course

I will have passed with the changing of the seasons

My entity still and always there for you

My badges and baggage a sign of what once was

My badges and baggage a sign of what still is

My badges and baggage a sign, for you

A road less travelled in a time less simple

The road is the journey, the journey the road

And I wish you to know everything emphatically me