TheBanyanTree: WALK A MILE…

[smack58 at nycap.rr.com]

WALK A MILE…

Walk a mile
On my shoeless feet
Feel the stones 
And slivers of glass.
Cutting deep.
Cutting to the bone.

Dig your heels
As I dug mine
Pushing hard and harder,
And let the blood fall
Between them
Up to your ankles.
And then to your knees.

Feel the grit 
Between your toes.
It grinds the tender flesh
As you run
Don’t walk 
To the signs in the street,

With flashing neon lights
That read your mind
And feed your soul
With emptiness
And part-time jobs
That can’t possibly fill you
And will never fill the yours.

Know the fear
That fits badly 
Inside your head
And moves
Without warning
Into your hands

And swings out
And bites
The very reason
That you are there,
Out, out, out
So very far out
On that limb
Breaking.

Run a mile
On my shoeless feet
Feel the blood
Feel the pain
Of running 
Without your shoes.

And then tell me if you understand.