The way I walk

The way I walk is mine to walk,
It’s not a choice I make, but it offers many possibilities,
I get to choose the people I walk with mind.

I can choose the people who I think will make the journey shorter,
The influencers, the gate keepers, the ones who promise an easier way ahead,
I can choose the “you scratch my back” smilers, who want to play the game,
I can choose the traders and bargain makers, the noders and winkers,
But I don’t.

I can choose the experts, the guides and the navigators,
The ones who stride ahead in confidence expecting me to follow.
I can choose the know it all’s, the show it all’s, the wordly wise,
I can choose the been it, done it, seen it’s who lend me their experience,
But I don’t.

I can choose the strong shouldered, the pack horse to save my efforts,
So I can relax and let them loft my weight, take my strain and carry me,
I can choose to be a passenger, an observer, a tourist taking snaps,
I can choose the giants and the heroes, the gladiators and the saviours,
But I don’t.

I can choose to be the patron, the pathfinder, the beast of burden,
But I don’t, I choose to be a pilgrim.

I choose to be a brother, a friend, I choose to be an equal,
I choose to walk with people like me, people who stop when I stop,
Who wonder at the things I wonder at, who ache and break when I do.
I choose to grip hands in fear, in the throb of exhaustion, in simple love,
I choose to walk with you.
I choose the way we walk.