Sprawl and tangle

Sprawl and tangle

Imagine a path not a path 
for a pilgrim to follow but, a path 

which follows the pilgrim;
freely chosen yet, prior and post,

with strings attached, a woven web 
in a realm obscure and deceptive,

every effort and action determined
by the soul's karmic sprawl and tangle.

Unable to choose wisely or freely
yet, unable to refrain from choosing,

inexorably wrought by the cast of a die
to live it, accept it, acquiesce

and yet, somehow, make it better,
holier, humbler, nearer to the goal.

Everything is necessary, my Beloved says,
until it is no longer necessary.

Everything, my Beloved says, is necessary
until it is necessary no longer.

O child of God, you are free, like Eruch, to choose
to become the slave of your Beloved