Your back stiffens with the weight of the world. You feel as if you're going to tumble down that hill again. You feel that this time, you won't get back up; that you will finally be weighed down by all the worlds' dirtiness.
You trudge, through the slippery ice, watching your footing, as the weight on your back, in your soul, creates a rift in the ice. No, you think, standing a little taller. I won't allow this! You say. Catching your bearings, you take a step. One step toward freedom. One step farther from hell.
You will not fall again. It is not acceptable.
"Help me!" you cry. "I can't do this on my own!" The weight doesn't lift. It is still there, shoving you into the dirt. But there is a hand, under your arm, pulling you upwards.
You know something has changed. "I've got you," a voice whispers into your ear. "You may stumble, but I have a hold on you, and you won't ever fall." This voice fills you with strength, and you take a step.
The hand never leaves your arm. At times you feel you cannot go on. You just want to break down. But that hand guides you along. Whenever you seem to lose hope, the voice whispers, ever so softly in your ear, "Keep going. You can make it. I have you." And you feel, once again, empowered to take on this fight against the slippery slope you stand upon.
©Taylor Thomas Bomar 2012
