The Next After Another

on the darksome trail of this black ledge
i am blind,
but that is who You are, isn't it,
the next step?
if on the rough scrabble shale
i slip and fall,
that is what i bleed, isn't it,
the step back?
against the cliffs my noise some heart
echoes wrongly,
but that is what i hear, isn't it,
the step up?
i am as lost on this path
as i am bound to it,
but that is what i am, isn't it,
the lock step?
and now? now i'm just tired
"either/or" "stop/go"
but that is what it's like, isn't it,
the final step?

for Sam

by John Etheridge