Dangerous Journey Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

To become fully awakened,
By consciousness...
Is a dangerous journey,
For anyone who begins their first steps...
Through the valley slick with pits,
Of ignorance.
And adorned with gleaming temptations.

It is less difficult,
If one's eyes were obstructed by blindness.
Than to have mind and eyes wide open.

Seen with unbelievable clarity...
Is everyone known and familiar,
Participating with wild abandonment.
And some thought to have been conscious.

And tested...
Will be one's faith, integrity and any held belief,
One's footsteps are placed with assured identity!

To become fully awakened,
By consciousness...
Is a dangerous journey,
For anyone who begins their first steps...
Through the valley slick with pits,
Of ignorance.
Since turning away from it to go back,
Is not an option!
And everything once accepted in the past...
Becomes examined, questioned and scrutinized.
As if never seen or known before!
That's what a full awakening does.