A single trail
of footsteps in the sand
or snow
mark where you have been
not where you are needing to go
the right way
left you all alone
to make your own impression
stamping your day
while it lasts
before erosion, corrosion
degeneration, erasure, noting you were never there
walking backward, the footsteps don't fit
the gait was moved, the way worn smooth
we rely on these directions
safety in nonzero numbers
go figure, follow the instructions,
tearing along the dotted line,
racing by
fixed on the finish
waiting in line
standing in someone else's shoes
you lose
your stride, taken by the tide.
Image By Probably P.S. Krøyer, 1893 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.
