Thursday, April 26, 2007

Running Away From the Footsteps Behind

[And now, dear hearts, a ball from another court, off the wall for sure and with a bit of crazy spin...]

The night I ran away from home.

It was a summer night. A summer night in Poosah City.

Summer nights in Poosah City -- the air is thick, after the day's heat, seemingly cool. Muggy with moisture and smells of life, the sounds of crickets fill the night with their rhythms of delight.

My parents were filling my night with the sounds of their fight.

What the fight was about? I guess maybe it was me.

Or maybe it was money

Or, the time he said.

Or, the time she said.

Or, "I was laying there for you to come to me all night."

Or, "I don't want my wife out fugging on the beach.", "I didn't do anything", "So, why were you swimming in the moonlight?"

Or, "You said I killed my wife!", "I only said that if you treated her the way you treated me she would have wanted to die."

Or, "You might as well take two dollars and throw it out on the street!"
On and on and on and on and on and on it always went...

Suddenly, I realized I wasn't there -- or at least it didn't matter.

More for the skeeters than the night's relative cool, I pulled on a light jacket.. I ran out the door, unnoticed. out into the night, into the streets of night, alone.

I've been running, running, running ever since.

I've been running away almost all of my life,
from what I have never been able to face.

However fast I have run, I hear steps just behind,
just as fast as my own and always so close!

In fact, much closer, much nearer than close!
The footsteps I hear, in fact, are my own!

For me, it is now the late afternoon,
perhaps evening, perhaps dusk...
If I turn around now, can I face myself?
Will I finally find someone I can trust?

3 comments:

Cap'n Rich said...

Well said, Crazy Bird.

So that's from whence the enlistments come.

Mine too.

Dec. 7, 1951. US Navy. Two weeks after I turned 17.

Foot steps...

Anonymous said...

Thats the same for me,
So I joined the Guard and what did I see.... Memphis... Memphis, Tennessee..
For six long years it turned out to be, but I found safe haven in…Memphis, Tennesee.

Wouldn’t it be nice to see, the numbers for the amount of troops, who have found “Safe Haven”, away from the Codpiece & Associates, anniversary of “Mission Acomplished” …. Oh , are suicides while in the “Nightmare”, really considered “Friendly Fire”?

Nuke Watcher

Chuck Cliff said...

Actually I was an economic elistee some years later -- but hey, same story, different title. Most people who elist imho have an economic motive.

In the actual story here, I intended to run away, saw the uselessness and came back to the house some hours later -- and they were still fighting and nobody had even known I run away! --