Tragic Poetry

Time's Trail

A little girl skipped along the forest's trail
All alone, virtue guiding her every step.
She leapt over puddles
And danced through tangled vines,
Serenely unaware of the evil of this world.

At last she reached a milestone marker
And the forest grew but one shade darker.
She laughed for joy and ran past the marker,
And suddenly she wasn't quite so little.
Her figure grew to that of a young woman's.
She was overwhelmed.

She tried to stop and turn around,
But she couldn't. The path forced her
To move forward, only forward.
She drew a deep breath and marched on.

Lonesomeness began to weigh her down,
So she sang to the birds
And told secrets to squirrels.
She'd draw pictures with pine needles
Of her imaginary lover.

She'd often lose her footing
And slip into deep puddles
And get trapped in thick vines,
And her furry and feathered comrades
Would come to her rescue and pull her out.
She loved them and thanked them
And cherished them with all her heart.

Another milestone finally appeared.
The forest was sheltered with a thick canopy
Of leaves, casting dark shadows
Over the forest's path.
Everything was quiet, and her animal friends
Were nowhere to be found.

The path doesn't stop for anyone.
She had to move forward.
Only forward.

As she passed the milestone, her figure
Was now fully developed.
She had entered adulthood.
The forest was so dark she could not see
Her own arms and legs.
She wept bitterly, but no one was there to hear her.
She was completely and utterly alone.

No one was there to come to her rescue
When she lost her footing
And tangled herself in the vines.
Her body was cluttered with deep
Scratches and ugly bruises, her face
Bloodied and stained with tears of desperation.

As she limped along, another trail appeared
On her left side. It was brighter than her trail.
She tried to cross to the other path, but
She could only stay on her own.

Suddenly, a familiar figure was seen in the distance,
Coming toward her from the new trail.
It was her imaginary lover she had drawn
With her pine needles.
She desperately cried out to him.
He looked up,
But he was unable to see her in the dark.

She screamed, she cried, she tried to stop
For only a moment, but the trail
Would only let her move forward.
The man crept closer to the edge of the path,
Calling for her desperately.
He recognized her, too.

She crept closer to her edge, struggling,
And at last they met
For only a moment.
Their hands clasped together,
But were abruptly and viciously torn apart,
For the paths move forward. Only forward.
She wanted to run back to him.
She wanted his light, but she only tumbled
Into a thick patch of vines.

She wanted to stop moving forward.
Her heart ached wildly for her lost love.
She wanted time to freeze,
So she grasped a thick vine,
Wound it around her neck,
And bitterly kissed life goodbye.
She lay there, sprawled over the pathway
In the middle of her journey
To dwell in silent, eternal darkness.