The Gate

I approach the gate,

but I’m denied access.

I’m told to wait

and not be the fastest.

The voice echoes

off the rusty gate

and then determines

my very fate.

I wait in silence

much like that gate,

then I reach for the handle

a chance I’ll take.

My turn is now

through years of patience.

I still wonder

where the time went.

The doors swing open

and I’m the last one in.

But was this place different

from where I’ve been?

Others now stand

on the other side

as the gate closes

creating a divide.

I now look through

spaces in the gate

remembering what I knew

from an altered state.