“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 