another path

there are moments in the haste
of day, when going in hustle from
one place
to another, that we see a face,
and wonder,
what price they've paid.
we see our own reflection
in a plate glass window and turn
away.
our homes behind us, our loved ones
safe.
we have hammered down
the nails upon our roofs, made
sure of so much.
we think about all that we have
earned in school
or in pay, and think how life may
have been different if we had
chosen another way.