Two steps

You are ahead of me.
I have your back
in sight
while dutifully following
your lead I am left
wondering how far behind
I will be left
looking for your steps
and contemplate your hurried
gait-

Need you sprint
in such fits and starts?

My heart gets louder
the further I am
from the life
I chase.

I can picture your intense
forward focus
and broad shoulders
pushing through
the warning signs.

It becomes easy to forget
you are not alone
without shadows for solace
without trepidation
for what lies
around the bend
and without a sense of where
and why we started
this journey
together.

You win.
I will take my time
and keep going without a
wasted scent.
The finish line
was not my destination
anyway
we will be tied
in the End.


Painting by Giovanni Boldini (1842-1931), 'The Summer Stroll' in Public Domain. 

Skipping Serendipity

Some glide along a smooth path

floating along without mirrors or water

under the masted will of breezy air

while Destiny draws closer

Some notice themselves in shadows

outlining the mark of forward and aft

while Destiny draws closer

starboard, a siren caught your name

Some feel their own gravity pulling

while Destiny draws closer

plunging its authoritative weight

swayed by promising warm fronts

While destiny draws closer

taken in trickles and torrents still

Some remain lost at sea, adrift

serendipity filling the mast.

Image by John William Waterhouse (1849-1917)  [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.