A Handful of Words: An Anthology of Original Poetry

Blind

My eyes close

And I inhaled a shaky breath

I uncertainly stumble forward

Afraid to turn back

My toes sink deeply into wet sand

That swallows my foot whole

Making it so much harder to move on

Still, I am blind

I force my unwilling body to move

Suddenly I fall, arms flailing behind me

Wind whistles past my face

My dark hair gently tickles my cheek

But I'm stuck in quicksand

Struggling, frightened

I get back up, must continue walking

Still, I am blind

I see nothing but fear and darkness

Again, I slip

Cut my arm brutally

And break my ankle

The pain is unbearable

I clench my teeth to keep from crying out

I limp forward

Still, I am blind

Yet I continue walking

I'm sweating

Despite the cool, sharp winter air

My hair sticks to my face

I'm exhausted, physically and mentally

About to give up

I feel myself falling again and think, “This is it.”

I stretch my arms out like a bird about to take flight

Prepare for the painful landing

Wind whistles in my ears

And I fall

Into chilling water of the ocean

It numbs my skin

I'm deathly cold

Yet I swim gracefully

But I'm still blind

It was then that I realized it doesn't matter.

We will always feel blind when trying to move forward. But we have to have the courage to keeping looking ahead, and not turn back to the past.