Bread Crumbs

 
I walked on unfamiliar ground today
Leaving thoughts, like bread crumbs,
Between the down of thistles and parched green weeds,
So I could find my way home if I got scared.
Maybe my crumbs were like a prayer,
That someone would pass by,
And piece together these bits and find my heart.
There was innocence in this ritual;
I still hoped that casting my bread upon the earth
Would yield answers the whole of humanity had not offered.

But there was a surprising wisdom in the journey as well.
In the beginning I would have traded my solitude
for companionship for fear of wild bears.
But here, in the clear light of day after a long walk alone,
the slow emptying of my heart for the birds
Created the sweetest voice that sang my own silent words.