stepping stones [poem]

“These stepping stones
Lead where to go”
–To a paradise, I was told

May you be the cool grass
Underneath my bare feet
Won’t you hold my broken heart
While you shield me from the heat?

Yes, may you be the cool grass,
May you be my streets of gold
May you be the still, small voice
You’ve already brought me home

After years of marching through
Narrow paths and needle eyes
Dancing in a music box
As my life passed right on by

I once wondered
When I no longer
Can wind the lever
Will I be discarded?

How on earth did I
End up placid
When I was born
So open-hearted?

What a shame to cross
The starting line lost
Wild and free
Just to have the life slowly drained from me

Take me back to 1993
I want to say, I’m sorry
For Damascus
I was blinded and then promised
“You can see!”

Take me back so I can assure her
Though things take a turn
They will get better

After a martian day or so
You step off those little stones

And it does feel quite alone

But you can see.