Footsteps

The poem Footsteps was born out of the painful, deep awareness that relationships we value can tarnish over time. Sometimes life itself, and the merciless passage of time, intertwined with habit, rhythm, necessity, and the annoyingly persistent tendency of people to take each other for granted out of sheer repetition, can bleach the most passionate and most tender relationships.

Footsteps

I live in the hallways of your mind,
hearing doors open, close,
Only to get to the next room
and find it empty.
You have left me behind.

Perhaps if I left a trail
of crumbs to
Crunch under your step
You might notice
Someone was there.

Perhaps I should ring
the doorbell, and wait outside.
But what if you lock the door,
change the key,
And I lose the chance
For magic to break the trance?

I live in the hallways of your mind,
hearing doors open, close
Only to get to the next room
and find it empty.
I have left you behind.

Trudi Ralston
July 10th, 2010.