Reflections: White Scorpion

along a narrow path you walk,
leaving behind the memories
you tried so hard to find;
a look behind and you begin to question,
having second thoughts,
starting to find fault with your decisions;
and, the trees loom overhead
becoming your judge and jury,
but without advice you continue;
slower than before,
more cautious,
perhaps less confident;
and, you breathe in the morning’s coldness
burning its way down into you as
it cleanses your thoughts and deeds

you have yet to perform;

on the wristwatch carried, your hands
appear detached, roaming the dial for solutions,
allowing life to become more serious
than it really is or needs to be, until
your head screams out to stop, and all
changes you make are not without guilt.

February 5, 1987