Lines In the Sand

There is this line
Seemingly etched in stone
That states firmly
"I will go this far, but no more"

Everyone has one
Or two
Or a dozen
Regarding a myriad of subjects
But all coming to the same conclusion

"I will go this far, but no more"

Sometimes we go right up to this line
Invisible though it may be
And what lies beyond sickens us
Though it fills others with glee

One thing seems certain though
Spend enough time right on that front line
And the concept of going just a little further
Becomes less and less foreign every day
Until an opportunity presents itself
And suddenly something just the other side
Seems to be not that far away

Surely I can go a little over
And jump right back again
Nobody will notice
Your ego looks the other way and then

There you are
In no man's land
In a place just past your limit
But not yet in a place called Too Far

Without realizing it overmuch
You've just negotiated with yourself
And given a small piece of your soul
To an unnamed third party
All in an effort to achieve some goal
That seems shiny like a diamond
Though the reality is a bit more like coal

Maybe you step back behind your line
In an attempt to reinforce your limits
But what's done is done
And that line will never be so firm again
Perhaps if you look back right now you'll see
That this line in front of you is not the only one

There is a succession of lines
Laid out in your wake
Rungs on a ladder you've used
To get from there to here
A progression of choices you've had to make

The most important and real boundaries
Are not set upon us by others
But are set up around us
By ourselves