Rain

I stepped out in the rain,
A sopping summer storm.
The drops splashed on my face,
Like infant lakes.

I walked beside the river,
it sang to me its dreams—
To roll and rumble on the shore
Of endless beaches.

I slept beside the river,
And it whispered in my dreams,
A swelling hope of coming home
A rising need to rest.

I plodded along the shoreline,
Feet sinking in the sand,
Waves sliding up beside me,
To rest there on the land.

I smiled at the water,
And I continued on,
Knowing I would find my home,
And rest there once again.

I stepped out in the rain,
Like sobs from darkened sky,
Water weeping down my cheeks,
Like children cast aside.

I wept that night with the rain,
And howled into the wind,
I’d walked so long and longed to rest,
But knew there’d be no end.

I Leave Footprints in the Sand with Every Stride

I leave footprints in the sand with every stride,
Proof that I had come, and I have passed.
The sands will smooth with rising tide.

Some peoples’ marks press deep and wide,
Their weight upon the mortal world so vast
They dig craters in the sand with every stride.

These heroes who fight so hard have cried,
Knowing their deeds will not hold fast:
The sands will smooth with the rising tide.

These very words I hope will somehow abide,
A small monument of what little I could grasp.
I leave footprints in the sand with every stride

And though I’ve fought and though I’ve tried
I know no song will stand time’s heartless blast,
The sands will smooth with the rising tide.

After you, and I, and ours, and theirs have died,
What could make our legends last?
I leave my footprint in the sand with every stride,
But the sands will smooth with the rising tide.