STAYING BEHIND
The party was boisterous
And loud
At the edge of the meadow
Along the wide well worn path
There was laughter
And voices in layers
A circling
With slow steady movement
Along the wide well worn path
Many colors
Digital numbers
Digital voices
And animated images
Rose from the crowd
He was smiling
His cheeks hurt
His eyes felt tired
As he tried to speak
No sound came
Others spoke to him
Faces in a window
Mouths moving
With great animated expression
But no sound
His steps slowed
And he glanced to the meadow
Serene and quiet
Oblivious to the clamor
Haltingly, his steps slowed more
And stopped
There was a sudden hush
And a circling
As all
Expressed great concern
With great animated expression
He felt the prods
The pushes from behind
As all pulled while gesturing and pointing
Down the wide well worn path
He resisted
Slowly they released him
Walking backwards and away
They pleaded with him
Please come
He could not
He stepped sideways into the knee-high grass
And felt his toes sink into the earth
A shadow of a bird
Passed in front of his feet
He heard the clamor move away
And fade into the wood
He was very much alone
He sunk to his knees
And sunk his hands into the earth
He wondered – what now?
He looked up and let the sun cover his face
He felt a presence and glanced across the meadow to the wood line
It was then he saw her
She had been watching all
Silence moved in and time froze
She stepped out into the sun
Dark hair blowing in the wind
Their eyes met
As a flood crashing, breaking and cleansing
He remembered all