It's like a child being born
or someone coming out of a cave into sunlight
with a wail of pain or a shout of exultation.
It is a fresh wind
blowing away stale smells;
It chills, where you were warm before,
as if you had just stepped out of the bath.
It stands at the bedside
and at every threshold
saying. "You have a choice;
to go back, to move forward
or to hesitate as long as you please."
You do not listen to this voice
until you begin to feel ill at ease;
Then you seek it out, and anxiously ask. "What if...?"