You Left

I kept thinking you would turn around You said you would never leave But it was getting harder to hear the sound Of you moving about the leaves I didn’t scream or chase you down Instead, I froze in fright I drew a circle on the ground Where I would spend the night I steadily followed, with my eyes As you faded in the distance I felt some sort of paralyzed By a moderate force of resistance Inevitably, you became so small Too soon, you disappeared Starved Wolves began their evening call But, no longer, was I scared Scarred feet, were bare My heart was pounding No covers to wear womanhood was sprouting Desperation replaced humility Rage overpowered my pain I vowed to push on, relentlessly I refused to die, in vain After miles of barely moving I locked eyes with an elderly farmer Confused at what I was doing He yelled, please, move no farther Removing the coat that kept him warm He began to walk my way He mumbled, we must beat this storm Then took me in, a stray He didn’t so much as sneak a peek His eyes were tired and caring My jaw was weak, too tired to speak I admired him so, for sparing