Step After Step

The dust swirls around my legs,

Drawing patterns in the inky darkness,

Lingering in a shroud above my ankles.

The stars shine above it all

In their meaningless beauty,

Watching, yet unwilling to help.

My life has become a loop

Of dragging steps through the night

And tense days crouching in the brush,

Always afraid, always exhausted.

The ache of my stomach,

My muscles, my throat

Are only surpassed by the ache

In my heart for home.

But there is no way to return,

No possibility of reunion.

Only the war at my back,

And the road at my feet.

So I shuffle on toward a

Hopeless future -

The only destination left for me.

Hour after hour,

Mile after mile,

Step after step.

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A/N: This was inspired by my grandfather's experience leaving home during WWII in China.