Day LX: Footsteps

So lately, been wondering who will be there to take my place.

When I'm gone, you'll need love to light the shadows on your face.

If a great wave shall fall it would fall upon us all.

And between the sand and stone, could you make it on your own?

I was consistently one of the shortest kids in class. And not only was I vertically unimposing, I was tiny in stature. Never one of the big-boned guys or hulking behemoths that roamed the hallways, I remember feeling very underwhelming. I didn't quite have the presence that height affords others. Fortunately, when you're a juvenile spitfire, personality can gift a taller impression.

If I could, then I would. I'll go wherever you will go.

Way up high or down low. I'll go wherever you will go.

An energetic child, I spent most of my adolescent years in the woods, lost in leaves and sticks and fallen trees. Too often, I'd lose track of time and realize, suddenly cold and quiet, that the sun had set and I was late for dinner. My father spent a lot of time dragging trails through the woods for us to walk along and enjoy, a trend that continued well into growing up. So, I suppose I felt like I owed his work some lost time? 

And maybe I'll work out a way to make it back some day.
To watch you, to guide you through the darkest of your days.

If a great wave shall fall it would fall upon us all

Well I hope there's someone out there who can bring me back to you.

Somehow, I find myself in those same woods all over again, lost, the sun hiding beneath the surface of the horizon. Archie peeps out a window, watching snow flutter in little breathless clumps to the ground. Snow. Snow. Snow. Haven't we had enough? Is spring really so far away? So out of our reach? Like the top of giant pine tree, looming and ominous. Branches stagger like fence posts, jutting here and there, whispering to the gray sky. I wonder if this evergreen giant is equally ready to leave the cold and wet behind.

If I could, then I would. I'll go wherever you will go.

Way up high or down low. I'll go wherever you will go

Beyond the needles, beyond the bark, a power line ripples. A roof collects flurries. A door opens and shuts. A light turns on. A table is set. A blind shuts. A car crawls. A cup steams. A man stands.

Run away with my heart

Run away with my hope

Run away with my love

And you stand. Against all odds, you are tall, like you've always been. Not imposing, I don't think, just taller than me. So I notice it. And strong. Strong like steel or rope or bourbon. Strong enough to say "no." Strong enough to say "think." Strong enough to say "please." 

I know now just quite how my life and love might still go on.

In your heart, in your mind, I'll stay with you for all of time.

Too strong to say "stay."

If I could, then I would. I'll go wherever you will go.

Way up high or down low. I'll go wherever you will go

If you care deeply enough for something, you can let it go. When something is someone, it's much harder.

If I could make you mine, I'll go wherever you will go

The snow subsides. Smaller chips of sky break and dance until nothing visible makes its way to the white earth. Pull back, through the window, watching the cat's tail flick and pester, masking the woods in passing lines of black and white. I wonder if my adolescent self would have envisioned lying in bed, pressing keys, and remembering the snow. Would he be proud? Or sad? Or ready? Would he stand tall, watching the weather change and shift? When the key turns and the brakes glow, would he wonder what could have been done differently? Would it matter?

If I could turn back time, I'll go wherever you will go

Too often, I lose track of time and realize, suddenly cold and quiet, that time stops for no man. And when the sun sets, dipping into the beyond, all that's left is footprints.

I'll go wherever you will go