“Footsteps”
These are my last steps through these halls.
This is the last night that I will spend not
Roaming, but monitoring, patrolling them.
New voices now echo forth from the doors,
And new faces, mysterious and unknown,
Peer around the corners. My time is ending.
It’s time for a new generation to take my place.
I can’t believe that my turn is over, but it’s
Time to pass the torch. Turn in my keys, clock out.
I’ve done my time, as it were. Served my sentence
And then some. I’ve been here for far too long,
Unchanging. It’s time to be like water, fluid.
These are my last days in the world that I forged.
This was a place that, once upon a time, provided
Me with the protection and stability that I sought.
I was desperate then, but I am stronger now.
Now I will seek love, freedom, and change rather
Than certainty. There are some things that are better.
Empty hallways will fill again, just as they do each
Year, an annual event that never ceases to amaze.
My part in the growth is done, my exit is stage left.
The Swords of the Ancients 
2 Comments
The change in the light always makes me sad as back-to-school time approaches. I remember the smells and sounds of autumn, the new classroom every year, new pencils and notebooks and erasers in my desk. I remember the sound of a new teacher’s voice, a new lunchbox in my backpack, and new books to read. Maybe that’s a reason I like this job so much. I still get to go to school for the first day every year with my kiddos.
I wrote this one at the end of my time as an RA at UCCS. It seemed a fairly adequate summation of my feelings then. I’m not sure how much I miss it right now. Still, the change from one school year to another is a strange thing.