Scenes at a Junction

May 17, 2005

For the one whose hair glints with a patch of sunlight, if by chance or choice you have passed by this realm:

So many quarter-moons have passed. That is why I am not surprised that when I round the curb to meet you, you are already far away. You know that I will never ask you to stop and wait, and you will never ask me to walk faster. I almost did not catch you to give my parting gift: words that I hope will remind you of the figure behind, growing smaller as you leap and bound towards your dreams.
I will meet your there, but for now I am standing still, my eyes shut. For once in my life I offer my supplications for the time when we will meet again. I wish for you to be as whole as you were when you allowed me to walk by your side. And I wish for myself that same wholeness, so I can hold you close again and be proud of my even breathing despite the scars on my feet from the road I have chosen.


A Traveler's Song

There are paths
I would have wanted
to walk differently
to have travelled in a manner
unencumbered
by any other purpose
except love.

I have run out
of gestures and tongues,
to wrap you
glibly, subtely,
so you will not protest
when I draw you close
within my warmth.

Vulnerable as I am to you,
you have felt safe,
to do nothing else
but smile
and bare that brilliance
without looking
over your shoulder.

I have walked
beside, behind you
pointing out the intricacies
of your path's
sights and sounds and scents,
knowing I am never needed,
only welcomed.

I stand straddled
between the crux of a fork
knowing I cannot
keep up anymore.
My legs wouldn't dare,
hesitant
at being left behind.

I ask for nothing
but soft moss
strewn over your path
to cradle your feet,
so you can tread lightly
over stone and gravel
over dust and mud.

Perhaps another junction
shall lead me to you.
Somewhere
in another path,
I might be granted
a glimpse
of a figure
brimming with intensity.

Until then,
I travel in the hopes
that you will be safe.
I tread the wake
of your strides,
reminding me of a song
that is your laughter.

blue rogue