Footsteps Poem by Jim Yerman

I recently walked the Appalachian Trail! …I know…please do not begrudge me…
well…in truth I only stopped and walked a little…I know…I know… don't judge me!

Where was I, oh yes, the Appalachian Trail…

In the short time I was on it…in the little I did explore
I found myself seeing shadows…of those who walked before.

I could see their shadows walking by…all of them smiling and alert.
and as they passed I bowed my head…and saw their footsteps in the dirt.

I have hiked up in the mountains…and seen footsteps on the land.
I have walked along our beaches…and seen footsteps in the sand.

But it occurred to me there on the AT…in those few strides I took
that the footsteps we leave behind in life…deserve a closer look.

For no matter where we walk today…on the land or on the shore
we all walk in the footsteps of those who came before.

And each footstep tells a story…it marks a time…a place…a day
A memory that will linger
long after those footsteps wash away.

And I found myself wondering…on this lonely wooded lane
What were the people like who left these footsteps?
What memories of them remain?

And I wondered about those of us alive today.
Will we be remembered as compassionate and kind?
What memories will be inscribed
In the footsteps we leave behind?