The Deep End of the Woods
for the "Somewhere between here and there" challenge
I walked in the forest
in my old shoes that didn't fit me anymore.
It gave me blisters and broke my feet
so I abandoned them in the shrubs.
I carried a ragged map
but the road less taken was overgrown.
I had to cut my way forward
not knowing where it lead.
~
I don't even remember
when she slipped off my shoulders
and became a ghost—
dissolved behind me
as I forced my way through the bush.
~
Her whisper still echoes,
it clings to me like perfume to
my favorite sweater I never wear anymore.
It makes me wonder who she could
have become —
the girl I used to be.
~
But she's no longer with me,
nor the girl I'm becoming.
I can sense her watchful gaze,
like a shy deer — hiding in the treeline
while I march onward on the unlit path
I carved out for myself.
~
And so many times
I thought about turning back,
or hoping that one day I’ll arrive,
though I don’t know
who waits at the end.
Not her,
not me—
someone I haven’t
yet—
About the Creator
Keep reading
More stories from Imola Tóth and writers in Poets and other communities.
The Sound That Carries Me
When I lie in bed, the train always finds me. The wheels slam against the tracks, loud and unforgiving, like something inside me that never learned how to rest. The horn cuts through the dark in broken intervals. Too close, too real, impossible to ignore. It drags me back to the fields of my childhood. Back when I thought life was simple. It wasn't. I just didn't have the language for how heavy it already felt. I was small, trying to survive things I didn't know how to name yet.
By Sarai Jakubczakabout 22 hours ago in Poets
Comments (12)
Congratulations on the win and finding a way to express how challenging it is to carve your own road through the overgrowth!
Wooohooooo congratulations on your win! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Your metaphors here are super. I'm particularly fond of forest imagery, so the fact that you chose one for the extended metaphor in this piece just makes me love it more. Vivid, too. Well done! Congrats on placing, Imola!
Well deserved recognition. Congratulations. I love how you capture the sense that the identity you shed still wants your validation.
Congratulations on your win, Imola. It is so well deserved
Those shoes are cursed. I like the creepy beat of this poem. The slow reveal of the inconveniences. Wait. Who slipped off your shoulder and became a ghost 😲 Favourite sweater. You never wear anymore. Keeps getting more and more unsettling. Yet I love it! I like the doppelganger lining up to your train of thoughts. When you saw her hiding in the treeline. Realisation sparked. 'Someone I haven't yet-' I love the ending, wishing you all the best for the challenge, Imola 🤗❤️
I had to read this twice. I wanted to each word to permeate my being. ‘My old shoes that didn’t fit me anymore’ is so symbolic of the never-ending changes and growth we incur in life. I have been through many pairs of shoes on my journey - some fit well and others were painful and uncomfortable. Thank you for such a dark yet magical poem.
The dilemma here was so palpable. Loved your poem!
This is a fantastic entry for the challenge! ⚡💙 Bill ⚡
I love the way the “ghost” of who you were lingers like a shy deer in the treeline.
Absolutely love this take on the challenge prompt. It's so fitting and very well conveyed. Well done and good luck!
A growing of age poem, love it. Plus it also reflects how easy it is to lose yourself. Oddly enough I took a very similar picture while walking, except it has a glow at the end of the path. I’ve been meaning to wrote a story based around it. This is lovely