THE ROAD IS NEVER ALONE

I Spoke to King Solomon yesterday,

Told him I was sad and lonely, yeah;

He looked at me and deeply smiled,

Showed me a god-forsaken road,

Then said:

Listen carefully and watch, my child—

The road is never alone!

Listen, he said, the road is never alone!

Your joy is yours, and so is sadness,

Listen carefully, he said, my child—

The road is never alone,

And so you never walk alone!

The path is lonely, and the lane is dark,

Your mind is filled

With a lot of things you can't track,

Still, you never walk alone.

Dark skies like a blacked-out picture,

Blowing like garments without cincture,

Tripping your feet chasing the future,

Bad news that keeps the soul injured;

At times, happiness becomes a decoy,

Deflecting attention like a wind-up toy,

But sadness remains behind the smile,

Mind shattering like a broken tile…

But I spoke to King Solomon yesterday,

Told him I was sad and lonely, yeah;

He looked at me and deeply smiled,

Showed me a god-forsaken road,

Then said:

Listen carefully and watch, my child—

The road is never alone!

Listen, he said, the road is never alone!

Your joy is yours, and so is sadness,

Listen carefully, he said, my child—

The road is never alone,

And so you never walk alone!

Fire, sky, earth and water,

As long as we live,

Our worries are immortal,

Alas, they're indeed immortal!

So I hang the picture that speaks of sadness,

But the sons of men will make it art;

When I speak, I'll have to take heart,

Even in pain, you'll find greatness.

So, I wear my heart upon my sleeve,

Upon the pains that life chose to give,

How soon till we get to leave?

What is faith if you can't believe?

But I spoke to King Solomon yesterday,

Told him I was sad and lonely, yeah;

He looked at me and deeply smiled,

Showed me a god-forsaken road,

Then said:

Listen carefully and watch, my child—

The road is never alone!

Listen, he said, the road is never alone!

Your joy is yours, and so is sadness,

Listen carefully, he said, my child—

The road is never alone,

And so you never walk alone!

And so I beared a poor man's comfort,

This too, indeed, shall pass!

And in the midst of a million sorrows,

There's still a thing that brings great joy…

Eventually, the pictures come to life,

As if from heaven comes a sign

That says: child, it's okay,

I hear your breaths, I hear your sighs;

That there are things we need go through in life,

That it only makes sense when it's time to look back,

That with the pictures come a sign,

That forever, I Am, with you.

And I spoke to King Solomon yesterday,

Told him I was sad and lonely, yeah;

He looked at me and deeply smiled,

Showed me a god-forsaken road,

Then said:

Listen carefully and watch, my child—

The road is never alone!

Listen, he said, the road is never alone!

Your joy is yours, and so is sadness,

Listen carefully, he said, my child—

The road is never alone,

And so you never walk alone!

© el-iyanu

"For we are all roads that lead to somewhere,

And while we walk, we're never alone.."

Photo Credits: Kahon John Iyanuoluwa

@ (kahonjohn on IG) You really should see his reel of pictures, they're truly amazing. This is perhaps the least colourful among them, but entirely significant in terms of purpose. Thank you, John.