The Walker

The burdens that we carry

The Walker

The Walker passes by

With metal on his back

A frame to hold the packages

The people want on track

They give him plans for colleges

And dates to turn out right

He lumbers on with certain steps

His eyes devoid of fight

The Walker only groans

When asked where he will go

The place the Walker's heading towards

Is a place only he knows

And he knows nothing of comfort

The people stole it all

They give their weight so willingly

To hide behind a wall

For who wants to think about the future?

All the tragedy to come

It's much easier when someone else

Makes sure the work gets done

And so the Walker stumbles on

And the people give him more

Until the day the metal breaks

Their plans crashing to the floor

The parents start to stutter

Their children start to cry

The Walker moves without a pause

His eyes upon the sky

The people come to gather

Each unwilling to accept

They twist the metal back in place

Contorting their regret

Then all together, all the men

Hold the Walker down

They place the metal on his back

Then lift him from the ground

But the Walker merely stares

At the stagnation of his feet

Never realizing before

That he could accept defeat

And so the Walker fell to rest

Never to move again

The people forced to carry

All their burdens to the end

Author's Note

This poem was partially inspired by a short story I wrote years ago. I started with the first line and then let everything develop from there in a rambling-style.

Reviews

[Sami Khalil]

But the Walker merely stares



"At the stagnation of his feet



Never realizing before



That he could accept defeat



And so the Walker fell to rest



Never to move again



The people forced to carry




All their burdens to the end"

I know stagnation is not good and burdens we have to carry in life are necessary sometimes...A splendid poem...:)

[Adam Crate]

Thank you very much. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[Sami Khalil]

You are welcome...:)

[Gleb Zavlanov]

A powerful, meaningful, philosophical poem. Great job!

[Adam Crate]

Thanks for the review. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[Zach]

I'm curious who the walker is, I have an idea but I think I will have to come back to this one a little later to further work it out.

[Adam Crate]

Poems are always open to interpretation. Out of the feedback I've gotten so far, my girlfriend's opinion has stood out the most - she said the Walker is all of us, and to release our burdens we need to stop accepting the weight that others put on us. That's the complete opposite of how I was looking at it but it makes a lot of sense.

[Zach]

Mk, so I have reread and come to a conclusion. First let me say, I am not religious in anyways, but I think this is a good comparison nonetheless. I think "the walker" is like Jesus in a way. He is trusted to carry all the sins of the people so that they do not have to fear their choices and the consequences of them. Or he is what ever faith or beliefs you have that allow you to continue living each day in peace.

[Adam Crate]

Ah, that's an interesting take on it. I'm not religious either but it definitely fits the concepts of the poem. When looked at from that angle, it almost acts as a warning - if you put too much of your burden on your faith it will crumble. There needs to be a balance.

Hmm...this is an intriguing way to look at it. Thanks for the in depth review.