Footsteps Falter

hope flickers
fails
lights once bright
dim
as darkness assails
my heart
and I knew
from the start
this road was long
and dark
anguish unabating
to walk it
alone
because waiting
cannot be done
in this place
where I can't face
this fall
from grace
Turn turn turn
footsteps faltering
I couldn't change
while her love was altering
the path it took
away from me

Don McGonigal
October 2004