The Road Not Taken

He was in the final days
Of Army basic training
When he heard a pitch
For joining the airborne elite.
He was ecstatic about signing up
Until his buddy
Put the them down,
Claiming they weren’t
Really that great.
He let himself
Be talked out of joining
By some guy
Who probably lacked
The courage
And the requisite character
To make it as a Ranger.
To this day he still
Chides himself
For not stepping up
To that challenge.
Who knows
Where the road
Not traveled
Might have taken him
Had he chosen it.
He might have
Ended up becoming
A corporate exec,
Or sacrificed his life
For some now
Forgotten cause.
The road he took
Wasn’t all that bad,
But he often ponders
How different
It could have been.