Searching

by Shondella Umeh

He walked uptown
He walked downtown
He walked to the mountaintop
and back down to the valley

He been walking
He been walking aimlessly
           I said that man been walking
And he ain't talking

That man is searching

Sir, do you know where you're going
to? Mister, do you like the things that life
is showing you?
           Man, where are you going

to? Do you know?

He walked from Bankhead
to Buckhead. He walked from Vickridge
to Primrose. He walked from Bellevue
to Holly Park. He walked
to the mountaintop and back

down to the valley

He been walking
He been walking aimlessly
           I said he been walking
And he ain't talking

That man is searching

A man who has it all, but unaware
A man capable of greater things to come
but he refuses to share; he wants it all
for himself. Alone he wants to be, by choice

So he keeps walking and he ain't talking
He holds it all in, unaware his feet
are the subconscious ambassadors
of his emotions

Unaware his mentals manifest
later physically, unaware of the significance
of stress to his overall well-being
He needs no one, so he thinks. Alone he wants

to be, by choice. He walked the earth
He walked the wind
He walked the waters

I suppose by now, we call him well traveled

He been walking aimlessly
I said he been walking
And he ain't talking

That man is searching

Unaware everything he needed was right
in front of him, in his presence
Birds eye view, figuratively
But he refuses to share

Alone he wants to be, by choice
SO LET HIM BE
After all, it's his choice and his
life. Although, it's a shame

he never took a wife

That man is searching
           Under the assumption he will cross
paths with something or someone better
         Under the assumption the grass

is greener on the other side
But in life and in reality the grass
is greener where you choose

to water it

Everything he needed was right in front of
him, in his presence
           By now, we call him clouded
lens, like glaucoma

Sir, do you know where you’re going
to? Mister, do you like the things that life
is showing you?
           Man, where are you going

to? Do you know?
SO LET HIM BE
And alone he died on his feet

Searching

© Shondella Umeh 2024. All RIghts Reserved