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Dead Ends

It is annoying,
even frustrating to weave along a highway and find out it leads nowhere.

All of us have made a turn or continued going straight
Ending up at the end of a road... SOMEWHERE?

There exists an abundance of Dead Ends in this world,
Both on maps and in our lives.
And if you are of any age at all,
You know,
It happens to everyone.
You are not alone.
No need to let it be a surprise.

We learn to turn around and head back to the main road,
Whatever main road that might be.
But often we are frustrated and annoyed
For wasting time on those paths
Which to nowhere lead.

Have heart my friends,
Do not despair when this happens again.
I learned from watching the kids play Mario
There is often a jewel, a key, or a helpful bit of information
In the cul-de-sacs and turnarounds that halt us suddenly
At a wall around a bend.

Now you are laughing, or crying perhaps
At the silliness of this verse.
But tell me is it not the truth
That from everything we can learn?

And if we cannot learn,
what is worse?

Even if the only purpose is to guide another by saying,
“That’s a Dead End, a no-outlet path.”
We might as well, when we are present anyways
Look for that hidden jewel or nugget of gold
tucked carefully away for us as we pass.

You might be surprised, as I often am
At how Dead Ends are good for you.
If Mario and Luigi can find them, turnaround, and then go on.
You and I can too.

The beginning of the poem sounded very frustrated and somber but the twist by mentioning Mario and Luigi was a surprising contemporary shift to make it more lighthearted.
However, it seems a little inconsistent when in the beginning you metaphorically mention highways that go to nowhere, but then mention literal dead ends in maps. Highways don't lead to nowhere in real life.

Thank you for your comments DarkestbeforeDawn.

Thank you for taking time to read and think about this writing.
If I may ask, as I am curious what impression it gives objective readers..What do you perceive the intent(s) within the verses to be?

I will use your input to improve the writing, I appreciate your honest thoughts.

pjswink

Now you are laughing, or crying perhaps
At the silliness of this verse.
But tell me is it not the truth
That from everything we can learn?

To a certain extent your poem can be classified as a fable which by definition is a story which teaches a moral lesson. I think one of the points you are trying to make, obviously, is that dead ends can still be be instructive in the pursuit of a goal.

*** CATCH-22 SPOILERS AHEAD ***

If you have ever read Catch-22 by Joseph Heller you will probably remember a character named Orr. Orr was a short, and apparently bumbling person who always patiently attempted to learn from his mistakes and had run into many a dead end. But Orr always benefitted from the knowledge he attained in each failure. Each closed door directed him to a new path just as the case with the Mario Brothers.

In this fictitious, comic novel Orr was a pilot of bombers during WWII and held the record for the number of times he had had to ditch his planes into the ocean. His best friend and tent mate was Yossarian, a bombardier who was terrified of flying over enemy territory and was desperately trying to get out of combat. Orr has always tried to get Yossarian to fly in his plane but Yossarian, who was more terrified of Orr's flying ability than getting shot at, always refused.

Each time Orr would crash he would climb into the inflatable raft and pull out the survival manual and then set about following the instructions while his fellow survivors laughed at his insanely dutiful efforts. With a stupid grin on his face he would patiently check the supplies, sprinkle shark repellant, look for the tiny oar and then begin rowing in the general direction of the base. One day, though all of Orr's men were picked up by rescue vessels, Orr was lost at sea and never found.

At the end of the book Yossarian is about to desert as a result of his superiors raising the number of missions he would have to fly when word reached him that Orr had been found. Unknown to Yossarian Orr, who also wanted to get out of combat, had been intentionally ditching his planes so he could secretly practice survival skills and in the last instance had, impossibly, rowed to Sweden to escape the war. Each dead end had finally led him to the goal he sought.

At the end of the book Yossarian recalls Orr's invitations and screams "Why didn't I have more faith?" : a question we probably have all asked ourselves at one time or another.

Nice poem! Thank you for sharing and please post more!

Thank you very much DATo. You kindly captured the essence of my intent, and enlightened me of a story I have never heard....but want to read now. Have a great day and thank you for adding quality to mine.