Walk The Yard Poem by Gabhriel Londe

In my darker times,
I remember myself
Pacing back and forth
In my backyard
From one fence
To the other.
I remember
Watching the ground
Go by
As I made my way
From side A
To side B.

At points, the grass was green
With little yellow, white, and purple
Flowers
Poking their heads out
Here and there
To watch me go along.

At another point,
The grass was dying,
Halfway because of the season,
Halfway because of my treading.
The fading grass,
Along with fallen leaves
Made crunching sounds
That demanded my attention,
But never received it.

I also remember white sheets
Being my grand stage.
It also crunched,
But only in its own original way.
I shivered,
But I wasn't concerned
About my cold, bare arms.
I would just trudge my way along
Without feeling the feet
That carried me to-and-fro.

Once I went out
When the sky was pouring
Ice water.
I was splashing back-and-forth that day,
Painting my white shoes brown
And staining my socks and pant legs.
My clothes were hugging me
And my hair was crying.
I stopped for a moment,
Shielded my eyes,
And looked up.
I felt the sky wink at me
Through a distant lightning strike,
And its thunder reminded me
That we both could have bad days.

I just kept staring up,
Wishing that I could have a chance
At a good day.
I wanted that so badly,
But it had eluded me for so long.
That need had begun digging ditches
Deep inside of me,
Changing my landscape forever.

I can still feel that desperation
Like it was yesterday.
I think that's why I remember
My diluted marching
So vividly.
I wanted to be able
To remember something,
Anything
Other than what was causing my pacing.