Gerry Hancock ...and which to choose?

 

Mary stops where the road divides,
branching to grass-ridged paths.
She stands, the dust underfoot hot
on this august morning,
conscious of the cooling shadow
each path promises...
...and which to choose?

One leads to a stream,
cool and green
and full of secrets -
the other to a small farmhouse
hand-built by Old Darcy himself
who always feels the cold
no matter the season.
A curl of smoke from Darcy's fire
sits like a cloudlet
on the green-top of the trees
about the house...
...and which to choose?

The whispering stream calls to her,
offering restoration
easing the burning burden of the day,
the other to Darcy, 
unvisited by the world since
that rawest of January days
when Annie slipped away.
Alone, he aches and burns for human 
company again...
...and which to choose?