Keep Walking

How many steps does it take
to be truly away? How
are those steps measured?

Even if my feet weren't small
it is going to be a long walk for me.

You gave me a head start,
with your rightward shuffle
I was supposed to be
polite enough to ignore.

And though I've paused 
at this milestone moment,
I am too tired
not to keep walking

and wondering
how many steps
until I’m really away 

and no longer expecting 
to hear steps besides my own.

Photo by Adam Cao on Unsplash

Song Choice: Not Ready to Make Nice by The Chicks


This poem was created for Poets and Storytellers United's Weekly Scribblings prompt. I went with Walking Away.

47 comments:

  1. Do we ever truly leave the past behind?

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    1. I think there's always some of it left in the linty corners of our pockets.

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  2. Recently experienced an old friend doing a 'rightward shuffle'(great phrase!) and am now, with very mixed feelings, contemplating that long walk. You've said it well.

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    1. I knew I wasn't the only one contemplating a similar walk.

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  3. Oh it's all good, but that closing couplet...Muy Bueno!

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  4. Too tired not to keep walking? Oh, yes! Been there, done that. Still doing it, as a matter of fact. It's a strange and terrible way...

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    1. I can't say that I'm still surprised I'm still walking, but it would be lovely not to have to.

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  5. Our expectations keep us listening for those steps beside us. Will 2020 ever leave us???

    Happy 2021

    Much✨love

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    1. There's a lot of ripples left to come from that particular stone.

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  6. I had to read what you wrote a couple of times. You always get me thinking Rommy! We have to keep walking! We are not our past! We are this moment and we can do so much! Big Hugs! Happy 2021!

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    1. And small moments strung together can make for powerful changes.

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  7. I feel there are always footsteps alongside our own, unseen, unheard, but always there. It's a comfort.

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    1. I'm all for comfort whenever it can be found

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  8. Some footsteps offer great comfort, like cadences while running, they keep us motivated and on step. But there others that tend to steal our balance, to drown the song of our moves... Those are certainly best left behind.

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    1. Good company definitely makes some movement more bearable

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  9. Poetry most certainly food for thought. It somehow seems a bit sad. Perhaps its just my mood today.

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    1. There's definitely a bit of sadness even with the resolve.

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  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  11. A lot of steps when you're walking away. But running away is a different affair, you can even use a vehicle for transport. Mrs. Jim says that since this pandemic we are joined at the hip. She did go by herself last week looking for after Christmas bargain priced Christmas decorations. She found none but did lose her billfold. ;)
    Today we both went for our bone density scan appointments and hers for a mammogram. Then we stopped out of our way at the hardware store for my 2021 Classic Car Calendar.
    Google changed my spelling on the first, sorry.
    ..

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    1. I hope you both get clean bills of health from both of your checkups. And that the calendar adds a bit of brightness to your month.

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  12. Excellent questions, Rommy, and if only we knew the answers. Such a poignant ending. I agree with Bev, that there are always footsteps alongside our own, unseen.

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    1. There are plenty of footsteps each on a quest to find the answers

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  13. Wonderful ending on this, Rommy. I think a little piece of the past is always with us, even if we are not conscious of it.

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  14. lovely poem.
    well, sometimes we have to let go some of the baggage of the past.

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  15. Often we need our memories to recall different things but in relationships even those long gone often have a lasting effect where the hurt lingers on. A person unaffected by the loss and hurt of someone once loved is rare indeed. We need that in order not to make the same mistake twice. But who hasn't been hurt by love?

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    1. It's a very rare soul who hasn't felt some measure of hurt

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  16. oh how many steps A good questions You don't know till you find out and toke the courage to walk. Love the last stanza

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  17. I keep feeling her stop, turn and face, but not walk back.

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  18. The first time through, I thought: "this could apply to x." The second time, "this could apply to y." The thought of listening to only one's own steps if only in the mind, may it bring peace.

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    1. I am delighted there are multiple ways to read it :)

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  19. This feels like a benediction--a blessing on the walk and the memories.

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  20. Each footstep is important--you'll know when it is far enough

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    1. That is an excellent point. All those steps build on each other.

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  21. It's so easy to step back into the past, some days way too easy. Love that you continue to walk .... and love The Chicks.

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    1. I wanted to dig out some of my old Chicks CDs (LOL, yes I still own such ancient artifacts) and listen to them.

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  22. Your questions in the first stanza are relatable and interesting. Yes, it can be a long, long walk...

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