A Stranger Walks With Me

Like a fluttering ghost,

Or weary apparition,

I seem to always take you with me

I hear the sounds

In the mellowed path I take,

I hear your footsteps on the ground

Following me with every sip,

Watching me with every inhale,

Haunting me with every night I lay my head

To what do I owe the honor

Was it rude of me to not save you a spot in my bed?

To what do I owe the honor,

Of such a loyal companion,

One who knows of no abandonment,

Of no liberty

Of no release

I suppose I cannot blame you

I must’ve brought this upon myself

Like the captain of a sinking ship,

It appears I’ve taken you with me

To think I could run fast enough,

Far enough,

Hard enough

To think I could lie enough,

Deceive,

Alieve

Like a shy student in the back of the classroom,

Who craves the validation of an answer,

With drops of sweat dripping onto her pages of notes taken,

I was embarrassingly and sorely mistaken

For you’ve followed me yet again,

Like I indeed knew you would

In uttering confusion I lie awake,

As your relentless retaliation ensues,

It’s as if I could not achieve release if you’d given it to me yourself

When the chaos ceases like a cold,

Slow and steady,

And the noise dissipates into the air like a puff of smoke

There you are

In all your grim and tenacious glory,

There to remind me

And remind me you do

The seemingly enthusiastic pain,

That flutters and stutters around

In my mind like a wounded butterfly

The seemingly endless thoughts

Persistent like a demanding child

But they don’t yell,

They don’t shout,

They merely speak

In a comforting lure,

They whisper to me