A blessing I didn't see

But what else should we try to fulfill? Work
And love. What else is out there? Nothing worth
Pursuing. I've seen men sidetracked by less,
Believing life's a trick, when it's a test
Of will. It's a world filled with temptation.
It's a world of adult situations.
It's up to me to figure out the path,
Whether with a wife or not, the road's wrath
Awaits me. Leaving South Dakota was
A blessing I didn't see because
I couldn't hear the message calling out
For me to stop acting a knockabout.
Where are the voices of expectation?
Of people in action? Their vibration?

[A. Van Jordan, from 'Int. Hotel Room, Chicago--June 1913--Day' in The Cineaste: Poems]