The Burden

The load is heavy

as he trudges down the street

that goes nowhere.

The hawk on the post;

the soft breeze through his shirt;

the all-knowing crow on the pole;

he is cognizant of all.

But not of the snake,

clandestine,

beneath the flora in the ditch.

He must sidestep 

a swarm of ants

where the road meets the shoulder

but still,

he trudges with the thorn

sharp in his side.

soon, he can go no further;

the road ends at the fence;

languishing under the weight

of jumbled vines.

Weary from the weight

he must recall his steps;

backtracking

undeviating

unfeeling

unnoticed

to the beginning;

to the source;

to the burden

waiting within.

(March 2019)