The Trail To Insanity Poem by Scarlett Treat

When she was young,
still a child, I mean,
she left a trail behind herself,
of toys, candies, chewing gum wrappers,
and even a lost shoe,
though how she walked home
with only one shoe,
I'll never know.

As a teenager,
she left the usual trail behind,
of broken hearts,
for she was very beautiful,
and all the boys would follow her home,
for they wanted to own her loveliness,
or maybe just find her lost shoe for her.

As a new mother,
there was forever a trail behind her,
littering the floor,
of pacifiers, bottles, diapers, toys,
and even a lost shoe,
which were cast down
faster than she could pick them up.

When her children left home,
a smell of loneliness and lost purpose
followed her about her home
as she picked up the odd lost shoe,
putting it where it belonged.
The nearly empty nest
was breaking her heart,
or so she thought.

But she rediscovered a lover,
one who was there all along,
the man who had come to her long ago,
that little boy who followed her home,
and stayed, and stayed, and stayed,
always helping her find her lost shoes.

Until, that is, the day he died,
left off following her
to follow a path of his own,
one for him alone,
where she could not follow.

Then came the day
she started losing things,
leaving behind herself
a trail of books, handkerchiefs, perfume,
and even a lost shoe,
though how she walked home
with only one shoe,
I'll never know.