The Walk

Its dark and quiet
You walk alone down a gravel path
The smallest noise makes you jump
You keep walking down the lit path
You walk confidently
Soon the lights will become sparse
You aren’t worried though
Not yet
You keep walking
Somewhere important to be
Someone important is waiting
As you walk you learn
You hear things from people
That make you smile
Make you feel safe
Make you feel welcome
And you walk on
As the lights dim
The people don’t seem so safe
You don’t like some of what they say
They’re faces don’t seem so familiar
Don’t seem so kind
You keep walking
The path keeps getting darker
The people darker too
Those small noises become louder
You realize you don’t know where you are
Anymore
As you walked with confidence you got lost
The path grows darker still
You feel scared now
There’s noise in the distance
Your heart begins to race
The people are no longer kind
No longer safe
They yell and scream at you
They tear at you mercilessly
Your pace quickens
You want to get home
The noise grows louder
As the path grows darker still
The voices are everywhere
Tearing and biting at you
You have no escape
And so you run
The darkness is immense
But suddenly there is light
At first you think safety but no
You are faced with a beast
So ugly and vile
Razor sharp teeth
It snarls and snaps
While the people watch
“what is this beast?”
You ask the crowd
As you shake with fear
In unison they speak one word
One haunting
And deadly word
The people say
In nearly a whisper
“truth”