New Directions Poem by Faith Wood

It’s all right.
We keep settled on the plans, never looking back,
Too indecisive to bear our own minds
Just one foot in front of the other-
It’s all we can concentrate on-
That scraping of shoes on the pavement,
Never noticing the words we etch when we tread on,
Just trying to keep our heads held high-
It’s all we could manage at the time.

But remember, don’t move too slowly now
Stop just long enough to hear the laughter,
The sirens, the bells
But move fast enough so as not to miss a chance.

And now we all have new directions,
With only the traffic signs for guidance,
But we’ll tread on,
As if we always knew the way.
And it’s here, on our own, that we take pride,
Taking breaks and stops when needed,
Meeting back in the old secret places
Where we once found comfort,
And now we have it again.