Walking Nowhere
(for those we love and all they leave behind)


I never saw you pack your bags
when you went away, leaving
discolored rectangles on walls
where memories hung, framed with
posterity's gilt... but I did notice the
silence that hung from coat racks,
empty shoes walking nowhere, and
a pillow that would fit no one but you.

And I found your 'To do' list but it
said nothing about tossing out the root
beer barrels you loved, putting laughter away
until later, petting the cat even if he isn't
begging, running to Sonic for that last
shushie ... and telling everyone good-bye.

So you see, I know you never
meant to go but sometimes it isn't
up to us, is it... and I hear that
it's not what you take with you that matters
but what you leave behind when you go.

It must be true because there is so much
of you left here... a silent coat rack,
the leftover root beer barrels, that 'to do'
list you never got to finish, your
smile, your smell, your pillow....
and some empty shoes... walking nowhere.


© Myrna D. Badgerow