the missing

comes a wilderness
of a country unknown,
whose marks
and members
I do not recognize;
losing my way,
turning in circles
wondering how I arrived.

with no compass
and no map,
no sun or stars
in a dull gray sky;
picking my way along
carefully, slowly
hoping to find a stone
or shore I know.

no path to follow,
even dark
or long overgrown,
opens up before me;
my way through
I must make alone,
fear and doubt
my close companions.

and though I grasp
at understanding,
it slips like water
through my fingers
to a rushing river,
then to the deep ocean ­–
gone in the blink
of an eye.

I am not someone who has much struggled with their feelings, or been unable to understand them. But I find myself there now in some ways, and it is a difficult path to see a way out of. For anyone else who has ever felt lost or unable to see their way through a situation, this poem is about that experience. I hope we can all find our way home.

If you liked this poem, please read through my poetry collection. You can also purchase my book, Gone to Ground: Selected Poems & Essays, available on Amazon.com or through your local bookstore.