footprints

I was walking along a trail

It dawned on me that I was following footsteps

They were faded but still slightly there

I had a feeling that there was something leading me

But I just couldn’t point it out until now

My feet seem to perfectly fit the faded prints

Almost as if the same traveler came back twice

As I was walking I wondered who walked here first

Those who told me told me of the original traveler

I took in each tale as I walked

They talked about him in such terrible ways

These tales created something horrific that I wanted to destroy

I hoped to find the end of the tracks only to surpass him

Then I heard news that I would never meet him

I began to ponder why but I was mostly unbothered

As I continued to walk I looked deeper into the prints

I begin to develop new feelings about him

I again start to wonder what he was like

However I assume that he is just like me

I begin to hope that I meet this traveler some day

I soon begin to notice that the tracks are deeper

I see myself close to the end

Suddenly I bump into something

I look down and see a gravestone

I’m taken aback as I read the name on the stone

The pieces came together in a flash

I knew this man and I didn’t

As I look to the stone on silently grieving

As a single tear runs down my cheek as I whisper

“ you would have been proud to see me now…”

I guess my younger self was right

 I will continue from the end of his tracks only to surpass him

Now I make new prints wondering if I’ll ever meet the next traveler