Disclaimer: This page may contain affiliate links. We may earn a small commission for purchases made through links in this post, at no extra cost to you.

A Short Walk

by Tom Harris
(Columbus, GA)


Basking in the sunlight,
watching people at Walnut Beach.
Children running here and there,
laughing, screaming, inventing games,
accusing each other of cheating,
of breaking rules they’d just made up;
an older couple on lawn chairs
in the shade of a large tree;
middle-aged women roasting on beach blankets;
a father sending his son deep
and arcing a Nerf football toward him.
“Why didn’t you catch it?” the father shouts.
The boy rolls his eyes
and retrieves the ball
that hit the ground ten feet behind him.

A commotion in the parking lot.
People in line at the concession stand
give up their spots to go see;
kids stop running in all directions
and run to join the crowd;
one by one the women get up from their blankets,
brush the sand from their legs and go investigate;
“Come on,” the old woman says,
“Let’s see what’s going on.”
Her husband scowls,
“I don’t know why you have to be so nosey,” he says,
then he follows her to the parking lot.
I am curious.
I stand up, take a step. My balance is uncertain,
my legs stiff, as if I’ve been sitting too long.
Way, way too long.
Every step an effort,
and exhausted before I go ten feet,
I want to sit.
“Keep going,” I tell myself.
“You’ll be fine. Walk it off.”
Obstinate legs give way to determined will.
My balance improves,
I walk faster, even run a few yards.

This happened once at a conference.
It was lunchtime.
I stood up, took a few faltering steps, then hit my stride
and hurried to the buffet line.
One time at the airport,
I started down the concourse,
stumbling and keeping one hand on the wall for support,
but my pace picked up,
and I had a jaunty air about me.

But I never had lunch,
never got on the plane,
never found out what happened at Walnut Beach.
Seconds before reaching the buffet line, the airline gate, the parking lot,
I woke up.
And the wheelchair was still by the bed.

Comments for A Short Walk

Average Rating starstarstarstarstar

Click here to add your own comments

Jun 25, 2013
Rating
starstarstarstarstar
liberation
by: Helena

Dreaming can be liberating. Thank God nobody can take it away. We are ABLE to walk,danse,run and visit pretty places.
Poems like this make us estimate and be thankful for what we already have.


Thank you, Tom

Jun 24, 2013
Rating
starstarstarstarstar
liberation
by: Helena

Dreaming can be liberating. Thank God, no one can take dreaming away from us. We can imagine even dancing, see pretty places, and walk and even run over there.
I believe this poem can make us estimate what good we have right now. Find it and be grateful.

Thank you.

May 20, 2013
Rating
starstarstarstarstar
In just one year...
by: Cheryl s

I so understand your dream and I know how it feels to watch people doing normal everyday actions they take for granted and realise just less than 1 year ago that was me. Now just to stand and walk 5 feet would feel like a victory of unreal possibilities. I am thankful for the love of my family and friends, but oh to be able to walk to the bathroom well that would be Heaven.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Want to Share a Poem About MS?.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Dear Friends,

"Life in Spite of MS is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We're also part of the Ebay Partner Network, another affiliate program."

We'd also like you to know it doesn't cost one cent more  when you click through the links here on our blog. Not one single penny. And we will make a little extra cash when you do click through. We'll be ever so appreciative. You also have our word that we'll only link to things that we would use ourselves, (or wish we could have or use).

Sincerely,

Cir & Akrista

You are reading original content written by Akrista or Cir L'Bert of Life in Spite of MS. If you enjoyed reading this blog, please consider following us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. See you there!


Enjoy this page? Why not pay it forward? Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.

Privacy Policy ~ Advertising Policy ~ DisclaimerContact Us ~ About Us

SBI!