it's just one stone I said.
it can't be too heavy.
I listened to my heart not my head
and I put it on my back.
I felt the weight of it every day
but I kept going forward
it didn't get in my way....
until I came across a boulder in my path.
I could carry one stone; why not two?
I lifted it on my back
because it was the easiest thing to do
though at first my knees buckled
they didn't break
and I thought I could handle it
I thought this was my fate
with two stones on my back
I went on my way
I picked up stones at random
and I thought I was okay
until one day I picked up a pebble
and my back broke like glass.
that pebble wasn't too heavy
but I'd picked up so many stones in the past.
for the first time in years I stopped
I turned to see what burdens I had carried
like a diligent soldier, like Atlas,
the foundation of my world I'd ferried
so many things I could have dropped
and so many I never should have held
but I thought I could manage
so highly I had thought of myself
at last I looked over my burdens
I inspected every stone
everything I'd carried for so long
and I chose to move on alone.
my back might be broken
and my knees weak as glass
but I will not carry any more burdens
I will leave them laying in my path.
©tammylynn
T