Backwards Walk

I'm working on my backwards walk

Through sickled thorns

And dew-dropped ferns

And this time

When I'm where I was

I'll leave no stone unturned.

Through fickle thickets long forgotten

alleyways I've left downtrodden, bruised or blinded

Tumble on with even steps

And stumbling

Where shadows slipping through the dark

That tripped me up in times long past

Are worst

I'll turn

And see myself

And pose the questions never asked.

I'm walking with no shoes

The ground is digging in my flesh

I've nothing left to lose

And I've got no one to impress

My clothing once was freshly pressed

But now, it falls away

Revealing in a sorry state

I'd feared would show one day

No rubber soles to ground me

And I've floated clean away.

I'm working on my backwards walk

To see what good can do

To straighten up

And stride

Towards

A clear path laid anew.